DefinitionIn forcev1.0.0

Floating-point operation (FLOP)

Any mathematical operation or assignment involving floating-point numbers. This is the unit of computation with which the Regulation measures the scale of training of a general-purpose AI model.

The official source remains authoritative. This is general information about obligations and not legal advice. See this object on the map

Address and citation

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Identifier: praxikon:eu:ai-act:definition:definitie-zwevendekommabewerking-flop
Payload hash (sha256): 19fb0acd8e5e74b53182b1168df1505c0d7447ea4958d578708685882580b049

Citation line

Praxikon, "Floating-point operation (FLOP)", praxikon:eu:ai-act:definition:definitie-zwevendekommabewerking-flop@1.0.0, dataset praxikon:sys:registry:dataset:ai-act-implementation-graph 2.1.0 (schema 1.4.0), effective_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z, known_at 2026-08-14T00:00:00.000Z, sha256 19fb0acd8e5e74b53182b1168df1505c0d7447ea4958d578708685882580b049

Version: 1.0.0
Legal time (effective_at): 8 August 2026
Knowledge time (known_at): 8 August 2026
Closed on: Not closed
Application date: 1 August 2024
Topics: definitions

Review status: Placed against the official source (8 August 2026). Next check due by 4 February 2027. The check date is the knowledge date of this version; no later recheck has been recorded.

What this object links to

Every relation appears below as a path: from the source with its locator, through the conditions and exceptions of the object carrying the relation, to the consequence. A locator belongs to a statement in the data and not to a relation, so the source is the source anchor of the carrying object.

What this object is about

2 of 2 shown

The object is about this role. Undifferentiated: it does not follow that the duty rests on this role.

Source
Official fact on this object, with its locator.
- EU Artificial Intelligence Act 2024/1689
  Locator: Article 3(67)
  praxikon:eu:ai-act:source:reg-eu-2024-1689
  Open official source
Via
No condition or exception recorded on this object.
Consequence
- ActorDeployer
  praxikon:eu:ai-act:actor:deployer
- ActorProvider of an AI system
  praxikon:eu:ai-act:actor:provider

What this object states

Official fact

Attributable to a named primary source, with a locator. Where they differ, the official source prevails.

Article 3(67) defines a floating-point operation as any mathematical operation or assignment involving floating-point numbers, which are a subset of the real numbers typically represented on computers by an integer of fixed precision scaled by an integer exponent of a fixed base.
- Locator: Article 3(67)praxikon:eu:ai-act:source:reg-eu-2024-1689Open official source

Our interpretation

Our own reading. It can change without the law changing, and it is not the position of a supervisory authority.

A technical definition with legal bite: FLOP is the yardstick for determining whether a general-purpose AI model is presumed to have high-impact capabilities and therefore systemic risk, using the cumulative training compute threshold in Article 51. That turns an engineering number into a compliance fact. In practice the problem is record keeping: many organisations can no longer establish afterwards how much compute went into training, while that very figure determines which regime applies and whether notification to the Commission is required.
- Locator: Article 3(67)praxikon:eu:ai-act:source:reg-eu-2024-1689Open official source

Recommended step

A practical step we consider appropriate. Not an obligation following from the Regulation.

For every model you train or significantly further train, record the cumulative amount of compute in FLOP, the measurement method and the hardware used, and keep that record with the model's technical documentation.
- Locator: Article 3(67)praxikon:eu:ai-act:source:reg-eu-2024-1689Open official source

When this applies

No condition recorded on this object.

When this does not apply

No exception recorded on this object.

Referring to this object

Citation block

Copy this reference into your advice, article or file. The identifier, the version and the hash keep the statement findable later, even once the dataset has moved on.

Reference

Praxikon, "Floating-point operation (FLOP)",
praxikon:eu:ai-act:definition:definitie-zwevendekommabewerking-flop@1.0.0,
dataset praxikon:sys:registry:dataset:ai-act-implementation-graph 2.1.0 (schema 1.4.0),
effective_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z, known_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z,
sha256 19fb0acd8e5e74b53182b1168df1505c0d7447ea4958d578708685882580b049,
https://www.praxikon.com/en/verkenner/definition/definitie-zwevendekommabewerking-flop
(https://www.praxikon.com/api/v1/entities?id=praxikon%3Aeu%3Aai-act%3Adefinition%3Adefinitie-zwevendekommabewerking-flop&effective_at=2026-08-08&known_at=2026-08-08&lang=en, accessed 2026-08-25)

Short form

praxikon:eu:ai-act:definition:definitie-zwevendekommabewerking-flop@1.0.0 (sha256 19fb0acd)

BibTeX

@misc{praxikon-eu-ai-act-definition-definitie-zwevendekommabewerking-flop-1-0-0,
  author       = {{Praxikon}},
  title        = {Floating-point operation (FLOP)},
  year         = {2026},
  version      = {1.0.0},
  number       = {praxikon:eu:ai-act:definition:definitie-zwevendekommabewerking-flop},
  howpublished = {AI Act Change \& Evidence Graph, dataset 2.1.0, schema 1.4.0},
  note         = {effective_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z; known_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z; sha256 19fb0acd8e5e74b53182b1168df1505c0d7447ea4958d578708685882580b049},
  url          = {https://www.praxikon.com/en/verkenner/definition/definitie-zwevendekommabewerking-flop},
  urldate      = {2026-08-25},
  language     = {en}
}

CSL JSON

[
  {
    "id": "praxikon:eu:ai-act:definition:definitie-zwevendekommabewerking-flop@1.0.0",
    "type": "dataset",
    "title": "Floating-point operation (FLOP)",
    "container-title": "AI Act Change & Evidence Graph",
    "publisher": "Praxikon",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "number": "praxikon:eu:ai-act:definition:definitie-zwevendekommabewerking-flop",
    "URL": "https://www.praxikon.com/en/verkenner/definition/definitie-zwevendekommabewerking-flop",
    "language": "en",
    "issued": {
      "date-parts": [
        [
          2026,
          8,
          8
        ]
      ]
    },
    "accessed": {
      "date-parts": [
        [
          2026,
          8,
          25
        ]
      ]
    },
    "note": "dataset praxikon:sys:registry:dataset:ai-act-implementation-graph 2.1.0; schema 1.4.0; effective_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z; known_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z; sha256 19fb0acd8e5e74b53182b1168df1505c0d7447ea4958d578708685882580b049; retrieved_from https://www.praxikon.com/api/v1/entities?id=praxikon%3Aeu%3Aai-act%3Adefinition%3Adefinitie-zwevendekommabewerking-flop&effective_at=2026-08-08&known_at=2026-08-08&lang=en; licence https://www.praxikon.com/nl/legal/terms"
  }
]

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