Why Open Source LLMs Matter?
1) Open-source LLMs (Large Language Models) offer various benefits, provided they become more focused and specialized.
2) Community Oversight: Openness helps in identifying model biases and improving alignment research. Although not all data can be disclosed, understanding a model's blind spots is vital.
3) Recreation of Models: While the scale of large models makes full recreation challenging, open-source LLMs can serve as bases for specialized models, enabling experimentation with different parameters and alignment strategies.
4) Self-Hosting and Custom Deployments: Major model builders can provide secure custom deployments, making it tough for open source to compete in terms of efficiency and data security.
5) Specialization: Open-source models shine when it comes to specialization. They can be powerful foundations for domain-specific LLMs, enabling breakthroughs in various industries.
In conclusion, don't necessarily need to be better; they need to be smaller and more specialized to unlock their true potential. While they may not match the general-purpose quality of hosted LLMs, they offer opportunities for customization and innovation in specific domains.