On the Societal Impact of Open Foundation Models

arXiv:2403.07918v1 Announce Type: cross
Abstract: Foundation models are powerful technologies: how they are released publicly directly shapes their societal impact. In this position paper, we focus on open foundation models, defined here as those with broadly available model weights (e.g. Llama 2, Stable Diffusion XL). We identify five distinctive properties (e.g. greater customizability, poor monitoring) of open foundation models that lead to both their benefits and risks. Open foundation models present significant benefits, with some caveats, that span innovation, competition, …

abstract arxiv cs.ai cs.cy cs.lg diffusion five focus foundation identify impact llama llama 2 paper stable diffusion stable diffusion xl technologies type