OpenAI and Anthropic reportedly lobby US regulators to restrict open-source AI
Reports indicate that OpenAI and Anthropic are privately lobbying Washington regulators to impose restrictions on open-source AI models. This contradicts public statements from executives like Sam Altman, who have outwardly expressed support for open-source AI development. This lobbying effort could lead to regulatory capture, where dominant AI companies shape regulations to stifle competition from open-source alternatives. It threatens the broader AI ecosystem, potentially limiting developers' access to open-weights models and centralizing control under a few tech giants. The private lobbying focuses on safety and security risks associated with open-source models, arguing they lack guardrails. Critics argue these safety concerns are being weaponized to protect the proprietary business models of OpenAI and Anthropic.
## BACKGROUND
Open-source AI, as defined by the Open Source Initiative, allows users to freely use, study, modify, and share a model's code, parameters, and training data. Many modern "open" models are actually "open-weights" models, meaning developers have access to the trained parameters but not necessarily the full training dataset or process. Regulators are increasingly scrutinizing AI safety, creating a battleground between proprietary API-based models and freely distributable open-source models.