The Open Source Initiative (OSI), self-proclaimed steward of the open source definition, the most widely used standard for open-source software, announced an update to what constitutes an “open source AI” on Thursday. The new wording could now exclude models from industry heavyweights like Meta and Google.
“Open Source has demonstrated that massive benefits accrue to everyone after removing the barriers to learning, using, sharing, and improving software systems,” the OSI wrote in a recent blog post. “For AI, society needs the same essential freedoms of Open Source to enable AI developers, deployers, and end users to enjoy those same benefits.”
An Open Source AI is an AI system made available under terms and in a way that grant the freedoms[1] to:
These freedoms apply both to a fully functional system and to discrete elements of a system. A precondition to exercising these freedoms is to have access to the preferred form to make modifications to the system.
Under such a definition, neither Meta’s Llama 3.1, nor Google’s Gemma model would count as open source AIs, Nik Marda, Mozilla’s technical lead of AI governance, told PCMag. “The lack of a precise definition in the past has made it easier for some companies to act like their AI was open source even when it wasn’t. Many – if not, most – of the models from the large commercial actors will not meet this definition.”
The older, looser definition allowed companies enough leeway to potentially undermine their consumer AI products, changing the models functionality and disabling access on the company’s whim, Marda argued. Such actions could potentially lead to “disrupted services, subpar performance, and more expensive features in the apps and tools that everyone uses.”
Neither Meta nor Google have yet acknowledged the new definition as a standard of the industry.
Mozilla is giving Firefox’s Smart Window two new tricks. If you haven’t tried it yet, Smart Window is an optional AI mode in Firefox with a built-in chat that helps you get things done while you browse. With this update, it can fill out online forms using details from your tabs and keep an eye on websites for you.
Tired of typing the same details into every form?
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.