‘Open-Washing’ Is Everywhere in AI. Four Criteria Cut Through It
Tech Policy Press“Open-source” is not a marketing register. It is a standard with specific criteria. For over two decades, the Open Source Initiative has maintained the definition that governs the term in software: the freedom to use, study, modify, and share, for anyone and for any purpose. In 2024, recognizing that model releases were stretching the label past recognition, OSI extended this into the Open Source AI Definition, which requires disclosure of the complete code used in training and sufficiently detailed information about the training data for others to understand and recreate the system.