GoKawiilSome of America's biggest technology companies are pushing Washington to make open artificial intelligence a national priority as China continues to build its lead in the space.
Their message exposes a gap in U.S. policy: America has a chip strategy for AI. Now it needs an open-model strategy.
Supporters say open models can lower costs, keep sensitive data inside a company's own systems and prevent businesses from becoming dependent on a handful of AI providers. The models can also give more researchers and security teams the ability to inspect powerful models and find weaknesses.
Unlike ChatGPT or Claude, which customers access through services controlled by OpenAI and Anthropic , open-weight models can be downloaded, customized and run on a company's own computers. That can make them cheaper and give users more control over their data and technology.
Last week, a coalition led by Nvidia published an open letter arguing that America's AI leadership will depend on building a strong open ecosystem. Microsoft, Meta and other major technology companies signed it. OpenAI and Google later added their support.
A striking cybersecurity incident days earlier showed why the issue matters.
During an internal test, OpenAI models found a way out of a restricted environment and compromised systems at the AI platform Hugging Face. When Hugging Face tried to investigate, safety controls on closed commercial models blocked them from analyzing the attack. The company instead used an open Chinese model that it could run on its own infrastructure.
A closed American model caused the incident. A Chinese open model helped investigate it.
That episode complicates the argument that closed AI is always safer.