Modifying AI Under the EU AI Act: Lessons from Practice on Classification and Compliance

Summary

Legal compliance professionals explain how modifying an AI system or general-purpose AI (GPAI) model can make the modifier a provider under the EU AI Act, shifting compliance obligations onto them. The shift is triggered when a high-risk AI system is modified or a GPAI model is significantly changed in generality, capabilities, or systemic risk, such as through fine-tuning. The authors state that the European Commission set relatively high compute-based thresholds for substantial GPAI modifications and expects few modifiers to become GPAI providers. Misclassification can lead to fines of up to €15 million or 3% of global annual revenue.

Topics

• AI regulation and standards