Dept of Commerce Urges White House to Support Open AI Models

Over the past few months, private sector CEOs like Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and xAI’s Elon Musk have called for open-source AI models that allow everyone to see the code the AI is based on, and build on top of it for free.

Now the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is encouraging open-source AI, too.

In a Tuesday report, the NTIA mapped out how the government can encourage AI innovation while limiting risks, like deepfake impersonations of people’s voices and likenesses. The report emphasized openness in AI development instead of restrictions.

“The openness of the largest and most powerful AI systems will affect competition, innovation and risks in these revolutionary tools,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson.

^{The White House. Photo: SAMUEL CORUM/AFP via Getty Images}

The NTIA advised that the U.S. government collect evidence by conducting research into the safety of AI models. It also recommended that the government continually evaluate evidence and take action if needed.

The NTIA concluded that the government should monitor the state of AI, not restrict it. The focus should be on innovation and international collaboration on open AI models, per the report.

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Herb Hogue, CTO of cybersecurity company Myriad360, told Entrepreneur that NTIA’s recommended approach “seems to be a prudent middle ground.”

“This move is a calculated decision,” Hogue said. “It maintains the momentum of innovation while keeping a watchful eye on the potential need for future oversight.”

Open-source AI models benefit from being transparent: Hogue explained that these models show the code they’re built on, which makes it easier to understand the technology and build public trust.

Keeping AI models open eases concerns around data privacy and biased training data, he said.

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Zuckerberg published a letter about the benefits of open-source AI development last week.

“There is an ongoing debate about the safety of open source AI models, and my view is that open source AI will be safer than the alternatives,” he wrote. “I think governments will conclude it’s in their interest to support open source because it will make the world more prosperous and safer.”