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Open source AI is key to countering China, Bessent tells Congress
foxbusiness.com • • business
Key Points:
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized the need for the U.S. to develop more open-source AI models to compete with Chinese firms, warning that regulatory capture by large AI labs could hinder innovation.
- Bessent highlighted that Chinese AI models often rely on "distillation," a process of training on U.S. closed-source models, which he described as a form of intellectual theft, urging the U.S. to strengthen its open AI development to counter this.
- U.S. tech companies argue against government restrictions on open-weight AI models, stating that open models drive innovation, enhance cybersecurity, and maintain American AI competitiveness, as reflected in a joint letter from major tech firms.
- The Trump administration's voluntary AI framework exempts open-source AI models from pre-release government security reviews, focusing regulatory scrutiny instead on proprietary closed models.
- Bessent cited Anthropic's Mythos model as a significant advancement toward artificial general intelligence, underscoring the importance of open AI development in maintaining U.S. leadership in the field.
