United States of America: Announced NTIA inquiry into Open-Weight AI Models

On 21 February 2024, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) under the Department of Commerce announced that it is launching an inquiry into the risks, benefits, and potential policy related to advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models with widely available model weights. The NTIA aims to determine how the accessibility of these model weights may impact society and national security. The inquiry is part of the US President's Executive Order on AI, which directs the NTIA to review the risks and benefits of large AI models with widely available weights and develop policy recommendations. The NTIA aims to gather information on the varying levels of openness of AI models, the benefits and risks of making model weights widely available, and the role of the US government in guiding, supporting, or restricting the availability of AI model weights. The public consultation on the inquiry will open following the publication in the Federal Register and will last 30 days.