--- authoritative: false representation: annotated-page publisher: AstroKube methodology: https://ai-act.astrokube.com/about/ source_verified_on: '2026-09-15' site_content_updated_on: '2026-09-15' title: 'Article 51: Classification of general-purpose AI models as general-purpose AI… | EU AI Act | AstroKube' description: 'Article 51, EU AI Act: 1. A general-purpose AI model shall be classified as a general-purpose AI model with systemic risk if it meets any of the following…' language: en source: https://ai-act.astrokube.com/law/art-51/ --- 1. [Start](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/) 2. [The law](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/law/) 3. Article 51 Chapter V · Section 1 · Classification rules # Article 51 — Classification of general-purpose AI models as general-purpose AI models with systemic risk ▼ Primary text, verbatim. Our annotations appear below, visibly separated. [1\.](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/law/art-51/#p-1) A general-purpose AI model shall be classified as a general-purpose AI model with systemic risk if it meets any of the following conditions: (a) it has high impact capabilities evaluated on the basis of appropriate technical tools and methodologies, including indicators and benchmarks; (b) based on a decision of the Commission, \*ex officio\* or following a qualified alert from the scientific panel, it has capabilities or an impact equivalent to those set out in point (a) having regard to the criteria set out in Annex XIII. [2\.](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/law/art-51/#p-2) A general-purpose AI model shall be presumed to have high impact capabilities pursuant to paragraph 1, point (a), when the cumulative amount of computation used for its training measured in floating point operations is greater than 10²⁵. [3\.](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/law/art-51/#p-3) The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 97 to amend the thresholds listed in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, as well as to supplement benchmarks and indicators in light of evolving technological developments, such as algorithmic improvements or increased hardware efficiency, when necessary, for these thresholds to reflect the state of the art. This text is meant purely as a documentation tool and has no legal effect. The Union's institutions do not assume any liability for its contents. The authentic versions of the relevant acts, including their preambles, are those published in the Official Journal of the European Union and available in EUR-Lex. [ Recital 110 — interpretive context General-purpose AI models could pose systemic risks which include, but are not limited to, any actual or reasonably foreseeable negative effects in relation to major accidents, disruptions of critical sectors and serious consequences to public health and safety; any actual or reasonably foreseeable negative effects on democratic processes, public and economic security; the dissemination of illegal, false, or… ](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/law/recital-110/)[ Recital 111 — interpretive context It is appropriate to establish a methodology for the classification of general-purpose AI models as general-purpose AI model with systemic risks. Since systemic risks result from particularly high capabilities, a general-purpose AI model should be considered to present systemic risks if it has high-impact capabilities, evaluated on the basis of appropriate technical tools and methodologies, or significant impact on… ](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/law/recital-111/)[ Recital 112 — interpretive context It is also necessary to clarify a procedure for the classification of a general-purpose AI model with systemic risks. A general-purpose AI model that meets the applicable threshold for high-impact capabilities should be presumed to be a general-purpose AI models with systemic risk. The provider should notify the AI Office at the latest two weeks after the requirements are met or it becomes known that a… ](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/law/recital-112/) ## What this means for you In your terms · Systemic-risk model obligations Adversarial testing of the model is conducted and documented; the runs and their records are engineering work. - Documented adversarial test runs for the model ## Obligations derived from this article [Systemic-risk model obligationsArt. 51(2)](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/explorer/?art=art-51) ## Scenarios that touch this provision ### An open model, fine-tuned and sold inside your product Illustrative Reading still settling You took an open-weight model, fine-tuned it on your own data, and it now powers a paid feature in the product you sell. ### Your role Provider ### Where it lands Not classified In force 2 Aug 2025 ### Decided by Chapter V, as the provider of the modified model, and separately whatever Article 6 says about the system you built on it. What applies - [General-purpose AI provider duties](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/explorer/?q=art-53-gpai-provider) - [Authorised representative for GPAI model providers](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/explorer/?q=art-54-gpai-authorised-representative) - [AI literacy measures](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/explorer/?q=art-4-ai-literacy) What you have to be able to produce - Downstream information pack - Model documentation - Onboarding notes for AI-touching roles - Provider-status assessment for fine-tunes - Public training-content summary - Team enablement plan for people operating AI systems - Written mandate for the model's authorised representative What would change the answer - The Article 53(2) exception covers models released under a free and open-source licence with public parameters, architecture and usage information, and it never covers a model with systemic risk. - Recital 103 reads components provided against a price or otherwise monetised as outside the free and open-source exceptions. A recital is interpretive context, not operative law, and it is the weakest link in this row. - Crossing the Article 51 systemic-risk threshold adds the Article 55 duties and removes the exception entirely. [EU Art. 53(1), (2)](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/law/art-53/ "Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act)") [EU Art. 51](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/law/art-51/ "Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act)") [EU Art. 55](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/law/art-55/ "Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act)") [EU Recital 103](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/law/recital-103/ "Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act)") [EU Guidelines on GPAI provider obligations, para. 60 Commission interpretation](https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/guidelines-scope-obligations-providers-general-purpose-ai-models-under-ai-act "Guidelines on the scope of the obligations for providers of general-purpose AI models under the AI Act") A scenario describes a system we made up, not yours. It is not a classification of your system and not legal advice. Pending review by a named legal reviewer. ## If you would rather not read the law The basics page explains the Regulation's own categories in order: scope, role, tier, date. The engineering view groups the obligations by the platform capability they demand. [Start with the basics →](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/basics/) [Open the engineering view →](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/engineering/) ## About this provision ### Status In force 2 Aug 2025 ### Regime General-purpose AI ### Binds Provider ### Type Article · Chapter V · Section 1 ### Amended by Not amended ### Recitals [110](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/law/recital-110/) [111](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/law/recital-111/) [112](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/law/recital-112/) ### Related [Article 52](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/law/art-52/) [Article 53](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/law/art-53/) [Article 55](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/law/art-55/) ### Cited capture regulation-2024-1689/en-2026-08-18.html sha256 8f0b656302f9864c… [Authentic text (EUR-Lex) →](http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/oj) [This version (EUR-Lex) →](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02024R1689-20260727) ### Machine readable [/law/art-51.md](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/law/art-51.md) [/api/law.json](https://ai-act.astrokube.com/api/law.json) ### Found an error? 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