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How to keep the lid on the Pandora’s box of open AI
The debate currently playing out will have an impact on global productivity and stability.
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Both open and closed artificial intelligence models have their benefits and flaws, says the writer.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: UNSPLASH
John Thornhill
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It is rapidly emerging as one of the most important technological, and increasingly ideological, divides of our times: Should powerful generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems be open or closed? How that debate plays out will affect the productivity of our economies, the stability of our societies and the fortunes of some of the world’s richest companies.
Supporters of open-source models, such as Meta’s LLaMA 2 or Hugging Face’s Bloom that enable users to customise powerful generative AI software themselves, say they broaden access to the technology, stimulate innovation and improve reliability by encouraging outside scrutiny.
