6 ms·

I wish there was some legally binding definition of "open" in the context of software so that OpenAI could be compelled to change their name.

adamsmith143 4y ago
They've been explicitly saying now that progress in AI, which they have helped push along enormously, is too fast and represents a danger to society whether through Sci-Fi like rogue machine scenarios or bad human actors or massive economic implications and it's very clear that ClosedAI is far better for the future of the world.
clnq 4y ago
Some countries disallow sensitive/protected words unless a criterium is met by the organisation. For example, here's the list for the United Kingdom [0]. The decision to allow or disallow a sensitive word is commonly delegated to organizations overseeing associated matters. The use of words like "Open" could signal that the company has a process for 3rd party code auditing. Whether doing it as a matter of government legislation would be a notable benefit for society, I am not sure. Perhaps an independent global accreditor could be established that does the same. While there may not immediately be penalties for using a protected phrase or word in such a scenario, there is still value in accreditation. People prefer accredited universities and accredited professionals. Over time, countries would delegate the regulation of protected word use to accreditors (as the UK did). Or an accreditor could trademark a phrase or a visual badge, and chase its wrongful users. But even then, one could argue that this would not be a net benefit to society. How would such an accreditor make money, and would that create barriers to accreditation for good faith actors? We certainly see some of that with some accreditations. Maybe we should not create more bureaucracy in the world because we believe "open" should mean one thing or another. [0]https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/incorporation-and-names/annex-a-sensitive-words-and-expressions-or-words-that-could-imply-a-connection-with-government https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/incorporation-and...
chatmasta 4y ago
It's basically no different than "fresh" or "organic" on grocery labels. Apparently the FDA does put some limitations on "fresh," while the USDA puts limitations on "organic" [1]. I'm not sure we even have an equivalent agency in our industry - maybe NIST? I agree it would be a nice regulation, but I think that horse has long left the barn, and it's not like you'll get to compel companies to change their name, so you'd just be left with some more regulatory capture as OpenAI keeps their name while new companies can't abuse the same bait-and-switch trick. [0] https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=101.95 https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfr... [1] https://www.ams.usda.gov/about-ams/programs-offices/national-organic-program https://www.ams.usda.gov/about-ams/programs-offices/national...
shagie 4y ago
I look at it much in the same way that OSF is open. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Software_Foundation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Software_Foundation Trying to legislate what certain words mean and no one can use a particular word as part of their company name unless it checks certain boxes gets into the "you're trying to regulate that?"
- Retric 4y ago
  Rules on deceptive advertising and fraud are very much about what words you can use to describe stuff. When a business chooses to use a word because it’s deceptive that’s very questionable IMO.
  - shagie 4y ago
    Organization names are quite different than products. "GPT-4" and "DALL-E" don't use the word open in their description. The research is accessible. ( https://openai.com/research https://openai.com/research ) Why are we trying to legislate and regulate the name of a company?
    - Retric 4y ago
      I’m not. That said, if you want to name your company Organic Milk and slap that label on some milk cartons the USDA may get up in your face.
      - shagie 4y ago
        https://www.spectrumorganics.com/products/culinary/ https://www.spectrumorganics.com/products/culinary/ You'll note that even though the company is "Spectrum Organics" the word "organic" doesn't appear on neither the saffron oil nor avocado oil labels. You can do a search for company names containing "organic" at https://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/legacy/companysearch.html https://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/legacy/companysearch.h... and then go and see if they use the word "organic" on their food product labels.
belter 4y ago
It's Open as in Open for Business...
layer8 4y ago
It’s open to interpretation.

adamsmith143 4y ago

They've been explicitly saying now that progress in AI, which they have helped push along enormously, is too fast and represents a danger to society whether through Sci-Fi like rogue machine scenarios or bad human actors or massive economic implications and it's very clear that ClosedAI is far better for the future of the world.

clnq 4y ago

Some countries disallow sensitive/protected words unless a criterium is met by the organisation. For example, here's the list for the United Kingdom [0]. The decision to allow or disallow a sensitive word is commonly delegated to organizations overseeing associated matters. The use of words like "Open" could signal that the company has a process for 3rd party code auditing. Whether doing it as a matter of government legislation would be a notable benefit for society, I am not sure. Perhaps an independent global accreditor could be established that does the same. While there may not immediately be penalties for using a protected phrase or word in such a scenario, there is still value in accreditation. People prefer accredited universities and accredited professionals. Over time, countries would delegate the regulation of protected word use to accreditors (as the UK did). Or an accreditor could trademark a phrase or a visual badge, and chase its wrongful users. But even then, one could argue that this would not be a net benefit to society. How would such an accreditor make money, and would that create barriers to accreditation for good faith actors? We certainly see some of that with some accreditations. Maybe we should not create more bureaucracy in the world because we believe "open" should mean one thing or another. [0]https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/incorporation-and-names/annex-a-sensitive-words-and-expressions-or-words-that-could-imply-a-connection-with-government https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/incorporation-and...

chatmasta 4y ago

It's basically no different than "fresh" or "organic" on grocery labels. Apparently the FDA does put some limitations on "fresh," while the USDA puts limitations on "organic" [1]. I'm not sure we even have an equivalent agency in our industry - maybe NIST? I agree it would be a nice regulation, but I think that horse has long left the barn, and it's not like you'll get to compel companies to change their name, so you'd just be left with some more regulatory capture as OpenAI keeps their name while new companies can't abuse the same bait-and-switch trick. [0] https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=101.95 https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfr... [1] https://www.ams.usda.gov/about-ams/programs-offices/national-organic-program https://www.ams.usda.gov/about-ams/programs-offices/national...

shagie 4y ago

I look at it much in the same way that OSF is open. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Software_Foundation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Software_Foundation Trying to legislate what certain words mean and no one can use a particular word as part of their company name unless it checks certain boxes gets into the "you're trying to regulate that?"

Retric 4y ago
Rules on deceptive advertising and fraud are very much about what words you can use to describe stuff. When a business chooses to use a word because it’s deceptive that’s very questionable IMO.
- shagie 4y ago
  Organization names are quite different than products. "GPT-4" and "DALL-E" don't use the word open in their description. The research is accessible. ( https://openai.com/research https://openai.com/research ) Why are we trying to legislate and regulate the name of a company?
  - Retric 4y ago
    I’m not. That said, if you want to name your company Organic Milk and slap that label on some milk cartons the USDA may get up in your face.
    - shagie 4y ago
      https://www.spectrumorganics.com/products/culinary/ https://www.spectrumorganics.com/products/culinary/ You'll note that even though the company is "Spectrum Organics" the word "organic" doesn't appear on neither the saffron oil nor avocado oil labels. You can do a search for company names containing "organic" at https://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/legacy/companysearch.html https://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/legacy/companysearch.h... and then go and see if they use the word "organic" on their food product labels.

belter 4y ago

It's Open as in Open for Business...

layer8 4y ago

It’s open to interpretation.