EU AI Act Research Exemptions May Disrupt Publication Norms at Major AI Conferences

A position paper argues that the EU AI Act's obligations could apply to AI researchers in more cases than the community realizes, potentially disrupting scientific publication practices at major conferences. The paper analyzes the Act's research exemptions and finds they fail to account for current AI research conventions, particularly around model and system release. Publishing AI research may void the research exemptions, creating legal uncertainty for researchers. The authors provide a roadmap for researchers to evaluate compliance obligations, explain why the Act applies to research with everyday examples, and offer a visual tool to navigate the complex exception system. They propose changes to the Act for greater legal certainty and recommend two risk-reduction steps for researchers. The paper calls for discussion among policymakers, legal scholars, and AI researchers to avoid unintended side effects.