GPAI General-Purpose AI


GPAI as defined by the EU AIA and ISO/IEC 22989:2022

 

General-Purpose AI (GPAI) is defined as an AI model that exhibits significant generality and can competently perform a wide range of tasks. This type of AI model is trained with a large amount of data using self-supervision at scale.


The EU AI Act states that GPAI models are capable of being integrated into a variety of downstream systems or applications. However, AI models that are used for research, development, or prototyping activities before they are placed on the market are excluded from this definition.


The AI Act distinguishes GPAI from traditional software systems by emphasizing that GPAI models are capable of "inferring" information. This inference process enables AI systems to derive models or algorithms from inputs or data, enabling learning, reasoning, or modeling.


The AI Act differentiates GPAI from traditional machine learning by noting that the "adaptiveness" of an AI system after deployment refers to self-learning capabilities, allowing the system to change while in use.


The actual text is the following (Article 3 : Definitions) ...


'general-purpose AI model’ (GPAI) means an AI model, including where such an AI model is trained with a large amount of data using self-supervision at scale, that displays significant generality and is capable of competently performing a wide range of distinct tasks regardless of the way the model is placed on the market and that can be integrated into a variety of downstream systems or applications, except AI models that are used for research, development or prototyping activities before they are placed on the market; Related: Recitals 97, 98, and 99


ISO/IEC 22989:2022 define Narrow AI and General AI.