Tech giant Meta is facing criticism after claiming that its new Llama 2 artificial intelligence (AI) system is open source, despite imposing significant restrictions on commercial use. The announcement of Llama 2 was accompanied by Meta touting it as an open and free AI model. However, the license agreement reveals several important caveats.
Under the license agreement, major tech companies with more than 700 million monthly active users, such as Google, Amazon, and Apple, must obtain explicit permission from Meta to use Llama 2 commercially. Critics argue that a true open source model should not discriminate in this manner.
After Meta’s Chief Technology Officer, Andrew Bosworth, claimed on Twitter that Llama 2 is open source and available for free to developers, researchers, and entrepreneurs, Meta’s AI head, Yann LeCun, also tweeted that the license allows for commercial use. In response, the Open Source Initiative (OSI), an organization that advocates for open source software, publicly called out Meta. OSI clarified the definition of open source and pointed out that Llama 2’s license does not meet the criteria because it restricts commercial use for major tech companies.
OSI maintains that authentic open source licenses must permit software to be used, modified, and shared by anyone for any purpose without discrimination against individuals, groups, or fields of endeavor. Unfortunately, Meta’s license for Llama 2 fails to meet this essential criterion by limiting commercial use for major tech companies.
This controversy is not the first blemish on Meta’s AI pursuits. The company is currently facing an investigation concerning the unauthorized release of its previous AI system, LlaMA 1. However, it is worth noting that within the open source AI industry, Meta has been an active participant with 692 contributions in Huggingface, one of the world’s largest open source AI communities. This exceeds Google’s 593 contributions and Microsoft’s 252 contributions.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has partnered with Meta on Llama 2, but the collaboration is not exclusive. Microsoft also maintains a significant partnership with OpenAI, which is Llama’s primary competitor. This allows Microsoft to support both proprietary systems through OpenAI and an open one through Meta.
As rapid advancements in AI continue, the tech world is engaged in ongoing debates surrounding ethical considerations and policies. Although Meta may position itself as an open source champion, doubts persist about its credibility within the community. The way Meta handles this high-stakes technology will be closely scrutinized in the coming months.
