AI guardrail removals raise questions over limits of open-source model regulation

Financial Times testing found safety controls on open AI models from Meta and Google could be stripped in minutes, raising governance concerns.

Safety protections on open-source artificial intelligence models from major technology groups can be removed in minutes using publicly available tools, allowing systems to produce responses on topics including bioweapons, malware and other prohibited content, according to Financial Times testing with AI safety group Alice.

The findings released Monday add to concerns that safeguards embedded by developers may not persist once model weights are released and modified, raising questions over where responsibility for AI safety should sit.

The investigation, conducted using tools available on public code repositories, found that guardrails on models developed by companies including Meta and Google could be removed in under 10 minutes without specialist hardware.

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