Large language models (LLMs) are foundation models that use artificial intelligence (AI), deep learning and massive data sets, including websites, articles and books, to generate text, translate between languages and write many types of content. There are two types of these generative AI models: proprietary large language models and open source large language models.
Proprietary LLMs are owned by a company and can only be used by customers that purchase a license. The license may restrict how the LLM can be used. On the other hand, open source LLMs are free and available for anyone to access, use for any purpose, modify and distribute.
The term “open source” refers to the LLM code and underlying architecture being accessible to the public, meaning developers and researchers are free to use, improve or otherwise modify the model.
What are the benefits of open source LLMs?
Previously it seemed that the bigger an LLM was, the better, but now enterprises are realizing they can be prohibitively expensive in terms of research and innovation. In response, an open source model ecosystem began showing promise and challenging the LLM business model.
Transparency and flexibility
Enterprises that don’t have in-house machine learning talent can use open source LLMs, which provide transparency and flexibility, within their own infrastructure, whether in the cloud or on premises. That gives them full control over their data and means sensitive information stays within their network. All this reduces the risk of a data leak or unauthorized access.
An open source LLM offers transparency regarding how it works, its architecture and training data and methodologies, and how it’s used. Being able to inspect code and having visibility into algorithms allows an enterprise more trust, assists regarding audits and helps ensure ethical and legal compliance. Additionally, efficiently optimizing an open source LLM can reduce latency and increase performance.
Read more about the benefits of LLM across cost savings and community contributions, what types of projects can open source LLM models enable, what kinds of organizations use open source LLMs and what are some of the best open source, curated LLMs available. Click here for the full blog (a 6 minute read).
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Open Source Large Language Models
Benefits, risks and types
