By Invitation | Artificial intelligence

Keep the code behind AI open, say two entrepreneurs

Martin Casado and Ion Stoica argue that open-source models will power innovation without compromising security

Illustration: Dan Williams

NO ONE DOUBTS that artificial intelligence (AI) will change the world. But a doctrinal dispute continues to rage over the design of AI models, namely whether the software should be “closed-source” or “open-source”—in other words, whether code is proprietary, or public and open to modification by anyone.

Some argue that open-source AI is a dead end or, even worse, a threat to national security. Critics in the West have long maintained that open-source models strengthen countries like China by giving away secrets, allowing them to identify and exploit vulnerabilities. We believe the opposite is true: that open-source will power innovation in AI and continue to be the most secure way to develop software.

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