Open source AI is the path forward

Software 2.0 is about open licensing.

I.e., the more important thing - the more "free" thing - is the licensing now.

E.g., I play around with different image diffusion models like Stable Diffusion and specific fine-tuned variations for ControlNet or LoRA that I plug into ComfyUI.

But I can't use it at work because of the licensing. I have to use InvokeAI instead of ComfyUI if I want to be careful and only very specific image diffusion models without the latest and greatest fine-tuning. As others have said - the weights themselves are rather inscrutable. So we're building on more abstract shapes now.

But the key open thing is making sure (1) the tools to modify the weights are open and permissive (ComfyUI, related scripts or parts of both the training and deployment) and (2) the underlying weights of the base models and the tools to recreate them have MIT or other generous licensing. As well as the fine-tuned variants for specific tasks.

It's not going to be the naive construction in the future where you take a base model and as company A you produce company A's fine tuned model and you're done.

It's going to be a tree of fine-tuned models as a node-based editor like ComfyUI already shows and that whole tree has to be open if we're to keep the same hacker spirit where anyone can tinker with it and also at some point make money off of it. Or go free software the whole way (i.e., LGPL or equivalent the whole tree of tools).

In that sense unfortunately Llama has a ways to go to be truly open: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36816395

> it doesn't have to grab _your_ attention

I am talking about in general, not me personally. No popular content on any website/platform is AI generated. Maybe you have examples that lead you believe that its possible on a mass scale.

> look like a famous character or put the person in a movie scene

what attention grabbing movie used gen ai persons

It's hard to say Llama is an "open source" when their license states Meta has full control under certain circumstances

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/meta-llama/llama-models/ma...

> 2. Additional Commercial Terms. If, on the Llama 3.1 version release date, the monthly active users of the products or services made available by or for Licensee, or Licensee’s affiliates, is greater than 700 million monthly active users in the preceding calendar month, you must request a license from Meta, which Meta may grant to you in its sole discretion, and you are not authorized to exercise any of the rights under this Agreement unless or until Meta otherwise expressly grants you such rights.

Unfortunately, there are a number of AI safety people that are still crowing about how AI models need to be locked down, with some of them loudly pivoting to talking about how open source models aid China.

Plus there's still the spectre of SB-1047 hanging around.

It should be transparently clear that this move was taken by Meta to drive their competitors out of business in a capital intensive space.