Berlin/Frankfurt am Main, October 1, 2026. With the increasing prevalence of AI systems and the requirements of the European AI Act, the testing of AI systems is becoming increasingly important. Especially for high-risk AI systems, companies must demonstrate that applicable requirements are met. At the same time, AI systems and their operating conditions are constantly changing—therefore, standards requirements must be reevaluated on an ongoing basis and translated into specific testing steps. Many of these steps have so far been performed manually.
The new Whitepaper “Scalable Testing of AI Systems with SMART Standards: Scenarios from a User Perspective”, published by the Digital Standards Initiative (IDiS) of DIN and DKE, outlines how digital standards can simplify this growing testing demand. The Whitepaper describes a phased development path—from today’s largely manual testing practices to digitally supported and, in the future, networked testing processes.
Enormous testing demand cannot be handled manually
The application of AI standards requires many manual, individual steps: standards must be identified, obtained, and interpreted; requirements must be extracted and operationalized for the respective testing process. If an AI model, its context of use, or the underlying requirements change, parts of this process must be repeated. Added to this are sector-specific product regulations as well as cybersecurity and data protection requirements. Therefore, there is a need for methods that consistently and transparently support these recurring preparatory tasks. Expert evaluation by a human remains indispensable in this process.
SMART Standards as the Foundation for Automated Testing
SMART Standards lay the foundation for automation, says Wolfgang Niedziella, spokesperson for the DKE Executive Board: “SMART Standards make the content of standards available in a way that machines can reliably process it, transforming the standard from a static document into an active component in the testing process.” The latest Whitepaper applies the conceptual work of recent years to a single, highly specific technology area for the first time. It presents a vision, the initial stages of which can already be implemented today.”
“As AI systems continuously evolve over their lifecycle and their characteristics change as a result, the effort required to ensure ongoing compliance with standard requirements increases,” says Christoph Winterhalter, Chairman of the DIN Executive Board. “Standards must therefore be more closely integrated into digital development and testing processes. The Whitepaper shows which steps can be supported digitally and where technical evaluation remains indispensable.”
Invitation to Help Shape the Future
Using a fictional company as an example, the Whitepaper demonstrates how automated testing using SMART standards can be implemented in practice. Standard content is delivered via standardized interfaces and can be read by machines. The Whitepaper outlines this path as it progresses through increasing levels of maturity: The end result is a shared ecosystem for AI quality, in which standards, data, and testing tools are available as standalone resources.
The publication is aimed at stakeholders in AI development, standardization, testing, and quality infrastructure, as well as at companies that incorporate standard requirements into digital processes. DIN and DKE invite interested organizations to help shape the future of this work. The IDiS Whitepaper 4 “Scalable Testing of AI Systems with SMART Standards: Scenarios from a User Perspective” is available for download here.
All previously published IDiS white papers are also still available for download:
IDiS Whitepaper 3: The Business Oriented Benefits of SMART Standards in Standard Application Processes
IDiS Whitepaper 2: Use Cases for SMART Standards
IDiS Whitepaper 1: Scenarios for Digitizing Standardization and Standards
About IDiS
To maintain the competitiveness of industry and standardization, standards must also be digitized. With a mandate from DIN and DKE, IDiS (Initiative for Digital Standards) promotes and accelerates the development and gradual establishment of SMART Standards—the standards of the future. IDiS thus offers enormous benefits for the future work of standard users, industry, SMEs, and standardization. The initiative sees itself as a community dedicated to demonstrating the benefits of SMART Standards and the associated digital transformation—in as practical a way as possible. Numerous concepts and deliverables have already emerged within the network. Furthermore, two-thirds of the participating stakeholders are companies, underscoring the relevance of SMART Standards for industry. For more information, visit the IDiS website.
