Abstract

As the global regulatory landscape for AI expands, the EU has taken a pioneering step by adopting the AI Act. This act introduces new obligations for AI operators to promote trustworthy AI and ensure a high level of protection for health, safety, and fundamental rights. By setting requirements for placing AI systems and models on the market, the regulation is expected to impact the AI industry across Europe and beyond. While some of these obligations consolidate existing best practices, those related to fundamental rights and ethics are relatively new for the industry. These require AI developers to adapt their practices and foster a culture of compliance to avoid significant fines or even market exclusion. This paper explores whether future AI developers are being adequately prepared through their university curricula to meet the fundamental rights and ethical requirements set forth by the AI Act. It proposes a qualitative method for assessing the readiness of university programs in AI-related disciplines. This method is applied to all relevant curricula offered by the 10 universities in Belgium during the 2023–2024 academic year, evaluating 1562 courses across 95 programs. Findings reveal minimal exposure to fundamental rights and ethics, which undermines students’ ability to integrate these values into their future professional roles. These highlight the responsibility of universities to strengthen their programs by more thoroughly integrating fundamental rights and ethics into the curricula for future generations of AI professionals.