Comment by Aswin Prabhakar

Under the current stipulations, these researchers would be obligated to maintain extensive documentation for their model. Further, the language in Article 28b(2(a)) seems to imply that providers of foundation models would be required to contract third-party specialists to audit their systems, which would be costly. However, unlike closed-source AI systems, open-source systems already permit independent experts to scrutinize them by the very nature that they are openly available, making this requirement an unnecessarily costly requirement for open-source AI. [...] As it stands, the EU AI Act would stifle open-source development of AI models, which would, in turn, hinder innovation and competition within the AI industry. Many open-source AI innovations have found their way into several commercial applications. Indeed, more than 50,000 organizations use the open-source models on HuggingFace’s platform. [...] The EU AI Act, in its current form, risks creating a regulatory environment that is not only burdensome and inappropriate for open-source AI developers but also counterproductive to the broader goals of fostering innovation, transparency, and competition in the AI sector. As the EU’s ongoing negotiations over the AI Act continue, particularly around the regulation of foundation models, policymakers need to adequately address these issues.