AI Vocabulary · 06 Own Your AI
What is Open-Source AI?
AI released with the freedom to use, study, change and share it, which requires more than published weights.
In software, open source means you may use, study, modify and share the code. For AI, that idea is harder, because a model is more than code: it is the result of data, training code and parameters.
The Open Source Initiative published a definition for open-source AI in 2024. In short, it expects the weights, the code and enough information about the training data that others could meaningfully understand and rebuild the system. By that standard, many models marketed as "open" are open-weight models: you can run them, but not fully study how they were made, and their licences may restrict use.
Why it matters for you
"Open" in AI marketing can mean very different things. Check three points: can you download the weights, what does the licence allow, and how much is disclosed about the training data?
Own it
The more open a model is, the more you can inspect, adapt and rely on it long-term without asking anyone's permission. Openness is a spectrum; know where your tools sit on it.
Where it comes from
Christine Peterson coined "open source" in February 1998 as a friendlier name for free software. Applying it to AI took years of debate, because a model is more than code. On 28 October 2024 the Open Source Initiative published the Open Source AI Definition 1.0, the first formal answer to what an open-source AI system must share.
Related
Your AI Learning Hub
Learn the whole AI Vocabulary, step by step, and build with it. Build it. Own it.