Open Source AI the Way Forward?

These are my personal thoughts, my own point of view. There's open debate on Closed vs Open Sourced AI. We have to be wide-eyed about both camps; the Scorched Earth strategy employed by late-comers vs the positioning of regulation to increase the barrier of entry for frontier-models. This is fast evolving space - and something I'm deeply passionate about. I truly believe humanity ?????? is at a fork ??a pivotal point ??? that might exponentially increase the probability of vastly different, alternate futures and realities. These next 5-7years will decide humanity’s future ?? ?? : StarTrek (Utopian) ?? or MadMax (Dystopian) ?? We have to brace for impact: Short-term Turbulence for Long-term Abundance. Could Open Source AI be the way forward, inching us closer to a positive AI future; but regardless Humanity has to buckle up for short-term Turbulence; long-term Abundance.

The landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly evolving, and open-source AI is emerging as the most promising path. Here’s a detailed look at why open-source AI is the future:

1. Superior Models and Innovation

Open-source AI models like Meta’s Llama have shown remarkable sophistication, often outperforming many proprietary or closed source models- even where Llama 3.

1 falls short, economically it incentivises innovation. The ability to distil larger models into more efficient ones (how companies with fine tune and perform post training based on the teacher model - eventually we will have billions of smaller, vertical, narrow use case models) ensures that open-source AI remains competitive. This continuous improvement and customisation cater to specific needs, making AI more accessible and adaptable.

2. Cost-Effectiveness and Customisation

Open-source AI models are significantly cheaper than their proprietary counterparts. For instance, models derived from open weights can be 50% cheaper than closed models like GPT-4. The flexibility to fine-tune and personalise these models for specific use cases offers a substantial advantage in terms of cost and efficiency.?

3. Collaborative Ecosystem

The open-source approach fosters a robust ecosystem where developers, researchers, and organisations can collaborate. This collective effort leads to rapid innovation and a diverse range of applications. Companies like Meta recently released Llama 3.1 (405B being the most able and competes head on with GPT4o at time of this writing) are actively building out partner ecosystems to leverage open-source AI, aiming to establish it as the standard for AI development.

4. Security and Transparency

Open-source AI allows for greater scrutiny and auditing of code, enhancing security. With a larger pool of contributors examining every line of code, unintentional errors and potential vulnerabilities can be identified and addressed more swiftly than in closed-source systems. This transparency helps build trust and ensures more secure and reliable AI systems. There’s a debate how OS models will erase the West’s fragile lead in AI. But that’s simply not true IMO. We need to lift all boats, globally, as humanity builds a collective future together. Imagine this, it’s much harder for closed source companies to protect the weights (Neural Nets, back propagation) of the models from bad actors. Rather, why not give everyone equal access to OS and we get into the same dynamics we saw with Linux; a community of solvers continuously improving the platform while keeping it, making it one of the most secure offerings we’ve ever seen. Open Source works.

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5. Regulatory and Ethical Advantages

Open-source AI aligns with regulatory and ethical standards by providing a transparent development process. It counters the regulatory capture attempts by closed-source companies and promotes a safer AI development environment. The collaborative nature of open-source AI also means that it can adapt more readily to new regulatory requirements and ethical guidelines. Simply put, we can’t rely (fully) on a small group of BigTech companies to self-regulate. The reverse argument is that these BigTech/ closed source companies want regulation to make the barrier of entry for frontier models to be inexorably high! Again, Open Source is the way forward here..?

6. Economic and Societal Benefits

The open-source model democratises access to AI, enabling broader participation from startups, academic institutions, and underrepresented regions. This inclusivity can lead to widespread economic benefits, fostering innovation and creating new opportunities across various sectors. As open-source AI becomes more mainstream, it has the potential to unlock significant productivity gains and drive global prosperity. We’re seeing the future of money, decentralised money, with things like Bitcoin. I certainly am convinced this is the future for AI as well.. open, decentralised innovation.

7. Future-Proofing and Scalability

As AI technology advances, open-source models are better positioned to adapt and scale. The ability to create smaller, efficient models for edge devices, like phones, ensures that AI can be deployed widely and efficiently. This scalability is crucial for meeting the growing demand for AI applications in diverse environments

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8. Benefits of an Open AI Ecosystem

An open AI ecosystem allows developers to build on top of existing models, fostering innovation and creativity. This contrasts with closed-source systems, which limit the ability to customise and extend AI capabilities. By providing open access to AI tools and resources, developers can create more tailored and efficient solutions, driving progress across various industries. Moreover, an open ecosystem encourages competition, leading to higher quality and more affordable AI products.

Conclusion

Open-source AI represents the future of AI development, offering unmatched advantages in terms of cost, customisation, collaboration, security, and ethical alignment. By fostering a vibrant ecosystem and democratising access to advanced AI technologies, the open-source approach not only accelerates innovation but also ensures that the benefits of AI are more evenly distributed globally. As models like Meta’s Llama and Groq continue to champion open-source AI, we can expect a more inclusive, secure, and innovative AI landscape that drives significant economic and societal advancements.