Smash Notes

Back to The American Startup Taking On China’s AI Models, with Misha Laskin.

What Is the Difference Between an Open and a Closed AI Model?

Misha Laskin says a closed AI model is something you can only rent, and an open model is something you can own. Renting leaves you exposed to a price hike or a cutoff, while someone else runs the system. Owning means the model can be handed over, even on a flash drive, and run on your own computers. He compares it to renting an apartment versus buying a house: one is convenient, the other is control plus the problems that come with it.

Ed Elson had assumed open also means free, in the sense that anyone can use the model, build on it, and customize it. Laskin agrees that is how most open models work today, and he says open does not have to mean free. A license can sit on an open model and be charged for. Linux requires some modifications to stay open. Beam, the model Reflection released, uses an Apache 2 license, so Beam itself is free.

Transcript

The American Startup Taking On China’s AI Models ·

Prof G Markets

More from this episode

  1. Why Did Misha Laskin Get Into Physics?Misha Laskin got interested in physics after he moved to the United States as a kid.
  2. Why Did Misha Laskin Start Reflection?Misha Laskin started Reflection in 2024 because the models then were good at chat and not at work someone could leave them to finish.
  3. Why Does America Need Its Own Open AI Models?Misha Laskin says America needs its own open AI models because open technology is what other countries adopt, and the country that ships it brings its…
  4. How Does Reflection Make Money From an Open Model?Misha Laskin says Reflection makes money from Beam, its open model, by charging enterprises and the public sector for the systems around it: serving…
  5. Why Should AI Intelligence Get Cheaper?Misha Laskin says the amount of intelligence available per watt will keep increasing, so the cost of intelligence should be driven down as far as possible in…
  6. Why Are Open AI Model Builders Six Months Ahead?Misha Laskin says an open model builder stays six months ahead because building the model also builds a state-of-the-art stack for serving it, for agents…
  7. Are Chinese Open AI Models a Gift to American Startups?Misha Laskin says Chinese open models are a gift to American startups, and he rejects the idea that the releases are simply bad for Western markets.
  8. How Do Chinese Open Models Spread Chinese Chips?Misha Laskin says Chinese open models threaten American national security because countries that adopt them also get locked into Chinese chips and data centers.
  9. What Is Reflection Building?Misha Laskin says Reflection is building a generational company around open models, and he wants it to be a leader rather than the only American lab in the…

People

More answers like this

More with Ed Elson

Related episodes

Plays from this note through the rest of the episode.

Note

Weekly highlights

One letter a week.

The notes worth hearing, with the minute they were said.