[$] Considering the OpenMDW license

The Linux Foundation's Mike Dolan has submitted the OpenMDW (Open Model, Data, and Weights) license to the Open Source Initiative (OSI) for approval, aiming to clarify licensing for the distribution of large language models and related materials. The license follows the OSI's controversial Open AI Definition and has already sparked debate over what constitutes freedom for AI models.

The open-source world has been struggling for a few years now to understand how to approach large language models LLMs and the licensing applied to them. What constitutes "freedom" with respect to a black box filled with numerical weights? The process taken by the Open Source Initiative OSI in the development https://lwn.net/Articles/995159/ of its Open AI Definition https://opensource.org/ai/open-source-ai-definition was controversial at best, as was its output. Now, the Linux Foundation's Mike Dolan has brought a new license to the OSI https://lwn.net/ml/all/CAFV=PSG=bsLTemzjyCKYYz9j=rX9dcNo6=2T6htbxTRgervMrA@mail.gmail.com for approval. It is called the OpenMDW "Open Model, Data, and Weights" , and it aims to clarify licensing for the distribution of LLMs and related materials, but consensus is proving hard to find for this license as well.