https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulatory_capture
On processing power, copyright, and capability.
I like to think of it as a knives factory. Anthropic knives are crafted with superior technology, uniquely shaped to perfection, and safe to operate. As seen on TV.
Millions are hurt by knives each day. Every household has tons of them, making everyone a potential mouth-foaming murderer 24/7. But not with Anthropic knives(tm).
Edit: spelling
Doesn’t mean that you have to think only Anthropic should be able to make bioweapons or whatever, but it just feels like this ignores the risk
Using a technology does not make an illegal activity illegal. It already was illegal to begin with.
And there are already guardrails in the form of ethos, law, justice departments and so on. This reality is flagrantly dismissed in their position on open-weights.
Just like cyber crime is just things like extortion etc which are already illegal: following similar reasoning all computer activity should be regulated by their vendors.
Hence the knives factory analogy, which is even more basic to point out this crooked way of reasoning.
It stands to reason you would regulate a knife differently than a nuclear bomb.
Any day there might bring a new discovery or mutation that changes the planet forever. AI might accelerate that, which is why AI is used in the bio / medical field for decades. An LLM might solve some things as well, but is just a form of AI.
The knowledge to make huge bombs is very old and part of a normal physics education. You can even work in companies that make or maintain these (potential) bombs. I agree that it turns into geopolitics very quickly.
Regulation often happens after the fact. I don’t think the call for regulation stems from kindness in this case. It stems from fear and greed more likely. And I share your concern.