đź“Ź AI Faces New Rules

EU's AI Act, Diving into DeepSeek, and Building Solid Foundations

“[AI] actually empowers me, and gives me the confidence to go tackle more and more ambitious things. It’s going to empower you, it’s going to make you feel confident.”

—Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia

The AI Breakdown

Artificial Intelligence Gets Its First Rulebook

The European Union AI Act is officially here making Europe the first to regulate AI at mass scale.

Touted as a framework to ensure “trustworthy AI,” the law introduces a risk-based approach to AI governance by setting restrictions on high-risk systems while allowing minimal-risk AI to operate with fewer rules.

But, the challenge? Strict rules, steep fines, and tricky loopholes.

How the EU AI Act Works

The Act classifies AI systems into four risk levels:

  • Unacceptable Risk (Banned AI): AI applications that pose a direct threat to safety or fundamental rights are outright prohibited. This includes social scoring, real-time biometric surveillance in public spaces, and AI systems that manipulate human behavior or exploit vulnerabilities.
     

  • High Risk: AI used in critical areas such as hiring, law enforcement, banking, and healthcare will face strict requirements. These include rigorous risk assessments, transparency obligations, and human oversight to prevent biases or security risks.
     

  • Transparency Risk: AI systems that generate content (like deepfakes or AI-generated text) must clearly disclose their nature. Users interacting with AI-powered chatbots, for example, must be aware they’re speaking to a machine.
     

  • Minimal or No Risk: AI applications like spam filters, AI-assisted video games, and product recommendation algorithms can continue operating without additional regulation.

Companies found violating the AI Act face fines of up to €35M or 7% of global annual revenue.

European Commission

The AI Act’s Impact on AI Development & Business

For companies deploying AI in the EU, compliance isn’t optional—and the burden will fall heaviest on those using AI for biometrics, decision-making, and public services.

AI developers must ensure:

  • High-quality, bias-free training data

  • Transparent documentation of AI decision-making

  • Human oversight in critical AI applications

  • Cybersecurity and robustness testing

Businesses deploying AI will need to:

  • Conduct risk assessments before launching AI tools

  • Clearly disclose AI-generated content and chatbot interactions

  • Ensure employees receive AI training to meet literacy requirements

European Commission

What’s Next?

The EU AI Act is just the beginning of a global shift in AI governance. With general-purpose AI models coming under regulation in 2025, businesses using AI need to start preparing now to avoid compliance headaches later.

Top Tools

Breaking Down DeepSeek

AI is evolving fast, and DeepSeek is the latest challenger looking to shake things up.

This open-source AI model isn’t just another ChatGPT clone—it’s built for precision, logic, and problem-solving, making it a go-to for developers and engineers.

But does it live up to the hype? In this article, we break down what DeepSeek can do, where it falls short, and how it stacks up against ChatGPT.

Prompt of the Week

Great partnerships are rarely built with a cold pitch. The best connections happen when you show up, add value, and make yourself impossible to ignore. Instead of chasing connections, become someone worth connecting with.

This week’s prompt helps you craft a strategy to attract the right people—the ones who share your audience and can help open new doors. You’ll develop an action plan that gets you noticed, builds credibility, and fosters partnerships that feel natural, not transactional.

Help me build strategic partnerships with businesses or individuals who share my target audience.
 
First, ask me questions to clarify my ideal partners, industry, and the unique value I can offer them.
 
Then, suggest specific ways to get on their radar through content, collaboration, and meaningful engagement (without making cold pitches).
 
Finally, create a structured 90-day action plan with weekly steps, including conversation starters, outreach methods, and content ideas that position me as a valuable partner.

Hear From The Experts

Are you AI-ready?: Building the Right Data Foundation

AI is only as smart as the data you feed it, and for most dealerships, that’s where the problem starts.

While 80% of businesses say they’re ready for AI, only 12% actually have the data infrastructure to make it work. That’s like trying to build a skyscraper on quicksand.

Messy, disconnected data—spread across your DMS, CRM, and inventory tools—keeps AI from delivering real results. Without a strong foundation, even the best AI tools are just expensive, ineffective gadgets.

So, how do you get actually AI-ready? Troy Scheer, VP of Auto-Mobility at BrainTrust Partners, says it starts with fixing your data: cleaning it up, unifying it, and making sure your systems can talk to each other.

Want to learn how it’s done? Read Troy’s full breakdown here.

Bits and Bytes

Reply

or to participate.