AI, Society and Systems at the Edge of Change

​AI sandboxes are quickly becoming one of the most important tools for turning the EU AI Act from a legal framework into something regions, public institutions, companies, and innovators can actually use.

​But what are they in practice? Are they just another kind of pilot project, or do they offer something more concrete: a controlled space to test AI, work with regulators, understand risks, build trust, and prepare for real-world deployment?

​This 30-minute session will offer a practical introduction to AI regulatory sandboxes under the EU AI Act, with a focus on what they mean beyond the legal text. Drawing on the experience of the AI sandbox being developed in Portugal, the discussion will explore what it takes to make a sandbox operational, useful, and relevant for regulators, regions, innovators, SMEs, and public institutions.

​The session will also look at where Europe currently stands in the implementation of AI sandboxes and what organizations using or developing AI should understand about readiness across Member States. More broadly, it will ask what these sandboxes could mean for the future of innovation in the region: from responsible experimentation and public-sector modernization to SME support, institutional learning, and greater trust in AI-enabled services.

​Rather than focusing only on compliance, this conversation will examine how AI sandboxes can become practical instruments for shaping safer, more accountable, and more innovation-friendly AI adoption in Europe and beyond