Defining AI Models and AI Systems: A Framework to Resolve the Boundary Problem

Abstract

Emerging AI regulations assign distinct obligations to different actors along the AI value chain (e.g., the EU AI Act distinguishes providers and deployers for both AI models and AI systems), yet the foundational terms "AI model" and "AI system" lack clear, consistent definitions. Through a systematic review of 896 academic papers and a manual review of over 80 regulatory, standards, and technical or policy documents, we analyze existing definitions from multiple conceptual perspectives. We then trace definitional lineages and paradigm shifts over time, finding that most standards and regulatory definitions derive from the OECD's frameworks, which evolved in ways that compounded rather than resolved conceptual ambiguities. The ambiguity of the boundary between an AI model and an AI system creates practical difficulties in determining obligations for different actors, and raises questions on whether certain modifications performed are specific to the model as opposed to the non-model system components. We propose conceptual definitions grounded in the nature of models and systems and the relationship between them, then develop operational definitions for contemporary neural network-based machine-learning AI: models consist of trained parameters and architecture, while systems consist of the model plus additional components including an interface for processing inputs and outputs. Finally, we discuss implications for regulatory implementation and examine how our definitions contribute to resolving ambiguities in allocating responsibilities across the AI value chain, in both theoretical scenarios and case studies involving real-world incidents.