Billions of Taxpayer Dollars at Risk Through Insecure and Unauditable Closed AI Systems
WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2025 -- The Open-Source AI Foundation (O-SAIF) launched today to advocate for transparency and accountability in AI systems used by civilian government agencies. The organization is sounding the alarm and calling for an end to closed-source AI contracts with civilian agencies, arguing that open-source AI ensures public auditability, enhances security, and prevents wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars.
O-SAIF will be launching a $10 million campaign that will educate lawmakers and policymakers, and citizens about the importance of open-source AI.
"All closed-source AI contracts with civilian agencies should be terminated immediately. Government AI should be built openly, with transparency and auditability at its core," said Joe Merrill, CEO of OpenTeams. "This allows the models and training to be publicly scrutinized and verified."
"Large language models are built on open frameworks and are trained on public data from the web. We should make sure that the technology that underpins our society is treated like a public good and that these models are auditable by our citizens. Closed models are fine for other use cases. But not for public service." said Shaw Walters, CEO Eliza Labs, Founder elizaOS.
"Open-source AI allows the public to audit and verify algorithms, enhancing trust in government technology. It is also more secure because any attacks or exploits can be identified and remediated, while the models and their training can be audited to minimize bias," said Travis Oliphant, CEO of Quansight, Founder of OpenTeams and Anaconda, Creator of NumPy and SciPy.
"Awarding a closed source software vendor to develop and train a proprietary AI in civilian govtech represents a serious misuse of public resources. These proprietary systems lack transparency and accountability, effectively wasting taxpayer funds while enriching private companies. This approach undermines public oversight and creates long-term dependencies that jeopardize government operations," said Hon. Tyler Lindholm, O-SAIF Director, a former WY State Legislator and former Policy Director for U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY).
Brittany Kaiser, O-SAIF Chairwoman, emphasized the urgency of O-SAIF's mission: "AI will soon surpass human coding capabilities. Giving closed AI systems access to government systems without transparency in data usage is a serious mistake. If we don't ensure auditability now, we risk dire consequences for taxpayers and society." Kaiser is CSO of Eliza Systems, a data rights activist, and Founder of the Own Your Data Foundation.
Background:
The Open-Source AI Foundation (O-SAIF) advocates for transparent and accountable artificial intelligence in government through the mandatory adoption of open-source technologies. The Foundation's mission focuses on ensuring AI systems used by federal, state, and local government civilian agencies are publicly auditable, promoting innovation while safeguarding democratic values and civil rights.
O-SAIF is backed by leading AI experts and organizations advocating for open and transparent AI in government. For more information, visit theopensourceai.foundation.
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