Over the last year, Creative Commons (CC) worked with other stakeholders to support open science and open source in the context of artificial intelligence (AI) and, specifically, the EU AI Act. This policy debate has now ratcheted up in the U.S. as well, after President Biden directed the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) at the Department of Commerce to start a public consultation process regarding “Dual Use Foundation Artificial Intelligence Models with Widely Available Model Weights.”

This week, we joined a broad coalition of civil society and leading academics urging a tailored, evidence-driven approach. The letter highlights the critical benefits that open models can provide, and encourages the government to consider carefully the best ways to address the marginal risks that openness can create. As the letter states, “We do not claim that openness is always beneficial, and there are some situations where openness may exacerbate risks from AI.” However, risk should be evaluated relative to alternatives (e.g., the use of closed models or other digital tools to accomplish the same ends) and may be addressed through less restrictive means than direct limits on openness.

Read the full letter.

For more information on CC’s works on AI, contact us at info@creativecommons.org