AI Literacy Training Curriculum (Art. 4): 8-Module Course for SMEs
Practitioner note: This article is practice-oriented compliance documentation, not legal advice. We are a compliance specialist, not a law firm. For legally binding advice, please consult a licensed attorney.
TL;DR
- Art. 4 EU AI Act since 02 February 2025 — AI literacy obligation for providers + deployers
- 5 target groups: management, IT, HR, marketing/sales, all other employees
- 8-module curriculum: ~4-6h training time
- Knowledge quiz + training record mandatory for audits
- Fine risk: EUR 15 million / 3%
1. Art. 4 EU AI Act
"Providers and deployers of AI systems shall take measures to ensure, to their best extent, a sufficient level of AI literacy of their staff and other persons dealing with the operation and use of AI systems on their behalf..." — Art. 4 EU AI Act
2. 5 Target Group Personas
| Persona | Training scope | Specifics |
|---|---|---|
| Management | 1-2h | Legal risks, fines, managing director liability, strategic decisions |
| IT/Compliance/DPO | 4-8h | Inventory, risk classification, FRIA, technical documentation |
| HR (recruiting + personnel assessment) | 2-4h | Annex III point 4, Section 22 AGG reversal of burden of proof, bias testing, anonymization |
| Marketing + sales | 2h | AUP, transparency Art. 50, watermarking, deepfakes |
| All other employees | 1h | AUP, prohibitions Art. 5, data protection, output quality control |
3. 8-Module Curriculum
- Module 1: What is AI? (15 min) — Definition Art. 3, machine learning, GPAI
- Module 2: EU AI Act overview (20 min) — Risk-based approach, obligations of providers/deployers
- Module 3: Prohibited practices Art. 5 (15 min) — Social scoring, emotion detection, manipulative AI
- Module 4: AI in everyday work — what am I allowed to do? (30 min) — AUP, data protection, confidentiality, verification
- Module 5: High-risk AI (20 min) — Annex III, FRIA, conformity assessment
- Module 6: Transparency Art. 50 (15 min) — Chatbot disclosures, deepfake labeling, watermarking
- Module 7: GPAI + ChatGPT/Claude/Copilot (20 min) — Acceptable use, data flow, loss of creativity
- Module 8: Knowledge quiz + certificate (30 min) — 25 questions, 70% pass mark, certificate generation
4. Knowledge Quiz Structure
25 questions, at least 70% correct = passed. Example questions:
- "Which of the following is a prohibited practice under Art. 5?" (multiple choice)
- "When do you have to disclose a chatbot?" (single choice)
- "Which data must NOT be entered into ChatGPT?" (multi-select)
Retest on failure + after 12 months.
5. Training Record Obligation
Mandatory content of the record:
- Employee name + position
- Training date
- Module completions with timestamps
- Quiz result
- Certificate ID
- Refresher date
Retention: as long as the employee is with the company + 3 years after leaving.
6. Provider Comparison (DACH 2026)
| Provider | Price/employee | Content | DACH law |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compliance-Kit AI Literacy | EUR 49/employee one-time | 8 modules + 25-question quiz + certificate | DACH-specific ✓ |
| SoSafe AI Literacy | EUR 15-25/employee/year | Short modules + phishing simulation | EU ✓ |
| KnowBe4 AI Module | EUR 20-35/employee/year | Generic, US-focused | partial |
| LinkedIn Learning | EUR 15/employee/month | Generic, broad | no, own research required |
DACH-compliant 8-module AI literacy program + 25-question quiz + certificate generator in the EU AI Act Kit.
Sources
Sources
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 — EU AI Act (Art. 4, Art. 99) (As of: 2026-05-02)
- EU AI Act Art. 4 — AI literacy (in force since 02.02.2025) (As of: 2026-05-02)
- European Commission — AI Office (As of: 2026-05-02)