Are open foundation models actually more risky than closed ones?

A policy brief on open foundation models

Some of the most pressing questions in artificial intelligence concern the future of open foundation models (FMs). Do these models pose risks so large that we must attempt to stop their proliferation? Or are the risks overstated and the benefits under emphasized? Earlier this week, in collaboration with Stanford HAI, CRFM, and RegLab, we released a policy brief addressing these questions. The brief is based on lessons from a workshop we organized this September and our work since. It outlines the current evidence on the risk of open FMs and some recommendations for policymakers on how to…

related reading

• On the Societal Impact of Open Foundation Modelsnormaltech.ai
• On the Societal Impact of Open Foundation Modelscrfm.stanford.edu
• A Safe Path to Open Weights - Thinking Machines Labthinkingmachines.ai
• On the Opportunities and Risks of Foundation Modelsarxiv.org
• Our position on open-weights models \ Anthropicanthropic.com
• [2608.07514] Open Technical Problems in Open-Weight AI Model Risk Managementarxiv.org
• The Myth of unsafe Open Source AIflorianbrand.com
• Is the future of AI open or closed? Watch today’s Princeton-Stanford workshopnormaltech.ai
• The future of foundation models is closed-sourceblog.johnluttig.com
• Why open-weight models without guardrails are a AI safety risk : NPRnpr.org
• Uncensored Modelserichartford.com
• Who’s Afraid of Chinese Models? – Stratechery by Ben Thompsonstratechery.com