May 30, 2023

An AI Challenge: Balancing Open and Closed Systems

Technology debates are often a tug-of-war between open and closed systems.

On one side, open allows interoperability, customization, and integration with third-party software or hardware. Champions highlight how openness promotes transparency, accountability, competition, and significant innovation. On the other side, defenders of closed argue that they are more stable and secure and better protect their owners’ property interests.

Navigating the spectrum between open and closed is critical to effective artificial intelligence policy. The right balance will promote innovation and competition while managing AI’s significant risks.

Much of AI’s creation and evolution have happened thanks to open-source development and diffusion. Numerous widely-adopted AI open-source projects provide development frameworks and libraries such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, and MXNet, and many companies – including Hugging Face, Stability AI, Nomic AI, and Meta – have released open-source AI models or enable open-source development.

Google and OpenAI have traditionally stood on the side of openness. Both have published AI research and open-source tools. Google, for example, originally developed TensorFlow in-house and later released it as an open-source software library for building AI.

Read the full article from CEPA.

  • Commentary
    • May 27, 2025
    Semiconductor Imports and U.S. National Security

    The Secretary of Commerce has initiated a Section 232 investigation to determine the effects on the national security of imports of semiconductors and semiconductor manufactur...

    By Geoffrey Gertz & Caleb Withers

  • Commentary
    • May 22, 2025
    Sharper: America’s Edge

    A volatile global security environment requires the United States and its allies to develop new tactics and capabilities to deal with novel global threats. On June 3, policyma...

    By Charles Horn

  • Commentary
    • May 20, 2025
    Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure on DOE Lands

    Maintaining America’s lead in AI data centers is critical for U.S. AI dominance....

    By Caleb Withers, Janet Egan & Spencer Michaels

  • Podcast
    • May 19, 2025
    Droning On: How Ukraine and Russia Have Revolutionized Drone Warfare

    In this episode of Three Questions, Paul Saunders speaks with Samuel Bendett, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. Mr. Bendett is a military ana...

    By Samuel Bendett

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia