How open model ecosystems compound
Interconnects Nathan Lambert
Research from AI2 and Epoch AI estimates that approximately 80% of compute spent building frontier AI models goes to research and development rather than training the final model. Chinese AI labs benefit from cost advantages by openly sharing research findings across competitors, reducing duplicated R&D work in ways that mirror open-source software dynamics more closely than Western closed-model approaches. This structural difference could allow Chinese labs to sustain longer development cycles than outside observers predict, though broader adoption would require companies to stop forking open tools into proprietary internal versions.
Why it matters
Further reflections on China's high-participation, open-first AI ecosystem.
