Unboxing the complexity of the AI regulatory sandboxes’ ecosystem: policy challenges and strategic lines

The establishment of artificial intelligence regulatory sandboxes (AIRSs) poses both policy and technical challenges, especially in how to reconcile support for innovation with regulatory oversight. AIRSs are based on dynamic regulatory feedback mechanisms that allow for a deeper examination of legal norms with a view to their future evolution. These structures facilitate engagement between regulators and innovators, enabling business learning and regulatory adaptation. However, their proliferation across the European Union under the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) may raise issues of coordination between competent authorities, cross-border regulatory alignment and consistency with overlapping (sectoral) rules. In view of these potential complexities, this paper makes two distinct recommendations. First, AIRSs would benefit from cross-border cooperation – efforts should therefore be made to pursue the establishment of joint AIRSs among different Member States in order to reduce regulatory fragmentation, lower the risk of forum shopping, and optimise administrative resources. Second, integrating AI and cybersecurity compliance within the same sandbox environment would be beneficial in terms of providing clearer and more structured compliance pathways. A well-designed regulatory sandbox regime would make regulation more effective, encourage responsible AI development and secure Europe’s leadership in digital regulation.