AI Dictionary › Regolamentazione
AI per finalità generali (GPAI)
General-purpose AI, often abbreviated as GPAI, is the regulatory category identifying AI systems, typically based on large foundation models, capable of performing a wide range of different tasks rather than being designed for one specific purpose. Models such as large language models typically fall into this category because they can be adapted and reused for applications ranging from writing to programming, from data analysis to decision support.
The EU AI Act dedicates a specific regime to this category, distinct from that of high-risk systems: providers of GPAI models must meet transparency obligations regarding technical documentation, compliance with copyright in training data, and, for the most capable models, additional requirements related to so-called systemic risks. The distinction arises because a general-purpose model does not have a single use case to evaluate, but can be deployed in very different contexts with very different risk levels.
For companies developing or integrating these models, the GPAI category requires clarifying their own role: whoever develops the foundation model has different obligations from whoever integrates it into a specific application, and both must cooperate by exchanging the technical information needed to ensure compliance across the value chain.
The term gained regulatory prominence in the AI Act debate precisely because of the rapid spread of large language models from the early 2020s onward, which made clear the need for a regulatory category distinct from AI systems designed for a single predefined purpose.
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