The proposal
Commons in, commons out
Any company that trains AI models on material it has not licensed must release the weights of those models to the public, once a year, on a fixed schedule.
The release rule
Unlicensed material from the commons trains a model. The model is put to commercial use. Each March 31, a firm releases the weights of every covered model it used in the year ending the previous September 30, returning the models to the public about a year after use.
COMMONS IN
MODEL BUILT
COMMERCIAL USE
COMMONS OUT
About a year
Unlicensed work used in training Registered when use begins Sold, licensed or used in-house Weights released each March 31 RETURNED TO THE PUBLIC
Commons in Unlicensed work is used in training.
Model built It is registered when commercial use begins.
Commercial use It is sold, licensed or used in-house.
About a year
Commons out Its weights are released on the next March 31 release date.
Fig. 1 — The release rule. A firm keeps a lead of six to eighteen months, about a year on average. Then what it built returns to the public.
The argument
Four facts, five assumptions and two opinions, set out so you can check each one.
The proposal
Who is covered, what triggers it, what is owed and how it is enforced.
For legislators
The Commons In, Commons Out Act: the rule as model legislation, ready to introduce.