Essay compares open-weight models to installed software, questions open-source ecosystem sustainability
An Interconnects essay argues that open-weight models, which include only weights and inference code, are more analogous to specific installed software versions than to foundational open-source projects like Linux. The author suggests this comparison paints a narrow path for the self-sustaining nature of the open-source model ecosystem, noting that open-weight models are transient on average but can have a long shelf life.
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InterconnectsNathan Lambert
Housekeeping: No voiceover for this post as I’m traveling. The oldest comparison people try to make is how what’s happening with open models compares to foundational open-source software projects like the Linux operating system. There are fairly clean analogies, but they paint a narrow path forwards for the self-sustaining nature of the open-source model ecosystem, where once Linux got big enough it was going to be self-fulfilling as the best possible tool for many jobs. The open-source language model – i.e. only models that come with a full training recipe, data, code, etc. – is a closer analogue to the open-source operating system. The open weight models you use – those with just model weights and inference code to run them – are closer to specific versions of software that you install in a project built upon them. Share Model weights are very transient on average, but they still have a long shelf life, as with a lot of heavily used software. It’s why many companies are still using w
