What’s the difference between proprietary, open weight, and open source AI?

Most people know that when it comes to large language models (LLMs), not all are created equal. Some models are clearly more “intelligent,” while others offer benefits like being significantly cheaper to use. Yet all LLMs fall into one of three categories: proprietary, open weight, or open source. Understanding these distinctions is the key to understanding the benefits and drawbacks of any individual LLM. Proprietary LLMs Let’s start with the first category, proprietary LLMs. As its name suggests, proprietary LLMs are owned by a single entity, usually a large corporation. Even if you don’t...