Glossary · 6 · Quality, risk and governance
Model card
Also known as: System card, Datasheet for datasets
A model card is a short, structured document published with an AI model that describes its intended uses, limitations, training data, evaluation results, risks and ethical considerations, so that users can judge whether the model fits their purpose.
- Intermediate
- Technical writers
- Technical project managers
- Developers
In one sentence
Model cards explained: the structured documentation of an AI model’s purpose, limits and evaluation — technical documentation for AI.
Example
Before choosing an embedding model, a developer reads its model card and finds that it was evaluated only on English text.
Why it matters on your learning path
- Technical writers: Model cards and system cards are a new documentation genre — and a natural field for technical writers.
- Technical project managers: Ask vendors for model and system cards as part of procurement; they feed your own risk assessment.
- Developers: Publish a model card for every model you fine-tune or release; Hugging Face provides templates.
Model card vs. technical documentation under the AI Act
A model card is a voluntary transparency format. The EU AI Act requires formal technical documentation for high-risk AI systems and general-purpose AI models, which goes further.