In a new insight, Technology and Innovation Policy Analyst Angela Luna walks through the debate surrounding whether to promote closed or open-source artificial intelligence (AI).

Key points:

• Proponents of open-source – AI systems with their components available for further study, use, modification, and sharing – argue they promote AI development, greater transparency, and reduce market concentration, while opponents argue they pose safety risks and put some AI companies at a competitive disadvantage.
• Meanwhile, the California legislature recently passed a bill that, in an attempt to mitigate potential safety risks from advanced AI models, would require large AI models’ developers to implement strict safety and security protocols and assume liability of open-source models and their derivatives – though such requirements might discourage AI developers from opening their models.
• As Congress considers the debate between open or closed AI, lawmakers should be aware of the potential pitfalls of premature regulations that could hinder the development of open-source AI models and AI development more generally.

Read the analysis