---
title: "Downstream modifier (GPAI)"
description: "An actor that fine-tunes or modifies another provider's general-purpose AI model."
canonical: https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/downstream-modifier-gpai
author: "Jorge García Aibar"
license: "CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)"
doi: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22956197
version: "0.5.0"
updated: 2026-09-25
---

# Downstream modifier (GPAI)

An actor that fine-tunes or modifies another provider's general-purpose AI model. The Commission's guidelines make it the modified model's provider only when the modification uses over a third of the original training compute; its Art. 53(1) duties then cover the modification, but a modified systemic-risk model is presumed to keep that risk and its duties [1][2].

- Developed in: [ch. 15, When a deployer becomes a provider](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/governing-deployment#when-a-deployer-becomes-a-provider); [ch. 18, When a fine-tuner becomes a GPAI provider](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/eu-ai-act#when-a-fine-tuner-becomes-a-gpai-provider)
- Chapters: [ch. 15, Deployment](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/governing-deployment) · [ch. 18, EU AI Act](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/eu-ai-act)
- Contrast with: [Downstream provider](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/downstream-provider)
- In the glossary chapter: https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/glossary#t-downstream-modifier-gpai

## Sources

[1] Guidelines on obligations for general-purpose AI providers, FAQ (a modifier becomes a provider only when the modification uses more than one third of the original model's training compute; obligations limited to the modification). European Commission. 2025. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/faqs/guidelines-obligations-general-purpose-ai-providers (verified: primary)
[2] Commission Guidelines on the scope of the obligations for providers of general-purpose AI models (content approved 18 July 2025 by C(2025) 5045 final; formal text C(2025) 7719 final of 19 Nov 2025; paras. 65 to 68 on modifiers; non-binding; indicative criterion of training compute above 10^23 FLOP with the ability to generate language, images or video). European Commission. 2025-11-19. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/guidelines-scope-obligations-providers-general-purpose-ai-models-under-ai-act (verified: primary)