There is an interesting fight within the leadership of U.S. AI companies. It is between the supporters of open-source AI and those driven to oppose open-source AI.

The opponents to open-source argue (probably wrongly) that open-source AI will advantage China. Open-source supporters argue that open-source AI produces better and more secure software. Also, China’s software engineer base is so wide and deep that its access to foreign AI innovation probably is the same with or without access to open-source AI.

The fight over open-access AI harkens back to the 12th-century Enclosure Movement in England, where farmers were grazing livestock communally on common lands (The Commons). The motives behind that movement were too similar to those of today: to monopolize resources, augment profits, and consolidate economic and political power.

Those with the resources were raising specialized animals for milk, meat, etc. and did not want their quality livestock interbreeding with those of the common farmer, degrading their animal assets. They used their political and economic clout to privatize communal land, taking access away from peasant farmers. Privatization continued for 500 years. It ended with larger private holdings mainly buying up small parcels for gains in land use efficiency from modern equipment.

This is what is going on in the AI Enclosure Movement, with an important difference. With enclosure, better animal husbandry evolved, while peasant farmers suffered. The opposite will happen to innovation from the AI Enclosure Movement.

Within the Internet ecosystem, much of the core technology (TCP/IP, Router, Switch, Server, DNS, other software) is developed and maintained in global open-source collaboration by thousands and thousands of software engineers. That collaboration has been its strength. Open-source innovation has also contributed to proprietary systems. Open-source promotes more innovation at the foundational level and offers better scope for local/specific use adaptation.

AI walled gardens will stunt this growth. This global loss will come with a greater concentration of wealth and power, and threatens our rights of Internet citizenship. We don’t want to go there. The AI Enclosure movement is a bad idea that lacks integrity and must be opposed.