The Biden administration is seeking public feedback on whether the most powerful AI systems should be open source or not.
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This move comes as part of a broader executive order signed by President Joe Biden in October, aimed at addressing the rapidly evolving technology.
The White House announced Wednesday that it is launching a public comment period to assess the risks and benefits associated with making key components of AI systems available for modification and use by anyone.
The research, described as a component of Biden's order, aims to gather views on the implications of different approaches to the development and application of artificial intelligence, if AI systems are to be open source.
What do tech companies support?
Tech companies have different views on the level of access they should adopt with their AI models. While some highlight the potential risks of widely accessible AI data, others emphasize the importance of open science in fostering innovation among researchers and startups.
Notable supporters of an open approach include Meta Platforms , Facebook 's parent company , and IBM .
In Biden’s executive order, open-source models, known by the technical term “dual-use foundation models with widely available weights,” were singled out for further scrutiny. These models include numerical values, known as weights, that significantly affect the performance of AI systems.
Biden highlighted the potential benefits of innovation associated with publicly available weights, but is wary of security risks, such as questioning the model's safeguards.
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Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has been tasked with consulting with experts and delivering recommendations to the President by July on how to effectively handle the benefits and risks associated with open-source AI systems.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), under the Department of Commerce, announced a 30-day comment period to gather comments on a report to be submitted to the President.
Meta intends to share compelling insights from its experience building AI technologies with the Biden administration, aiming to ensure the continued democratization of the benefits of AI, said Nick Clegg , the company's President of Global Affairs .
In contrast, Google, which has traditionally favored a more closed approach, has unveiled a new set of open models called Gemma. These models, derived from the technology behind Google’s Gemini chat app and payment service, are described as a “lightweight” alternative to the company’s closed Gemini models.
Google emphasized security considerations when launching Gemma and is urging the AI community to take a collaborative approach to assessing risks and benefits.
Despite the availability of open source in AI systems, access and control remain concentrated in the hands of a few large companies, according to Cornell Universityresearcher David Gray Widder. Widder highlighted the complex forces behind companies’ decisions to adopt open or closed approaches, suggesting that profit motives and concerns about protecting proprietary technology play important roles in determining their strategies.
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What are the applications of AI?
AI systems are widely applied in many fields. One of them is medicine, where AI is used to analyze images, predict diseases, and provide personalized healthcare. AI is also essential in the automotive industry, where it is used to develop autonomous vehicles. These vehicles use AI to process data from sensors and cameras, allowing them to understand their environment and make decisions. In the entertainment sector, AI is used to tailor content to user preferences, create personalized recommendations, and predict trends.
Source: firstpost
