Open Source Model
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
AI models where the weights are publicly available — anyone can download, run, modify, and fine-tune them. Models like Llama, Mistral, and DeepSeek give you the full model, not just API access. Though 'open source' in AI is... complicated. Some models are 'open source' the way a restaurant is 'open' — you can eat there, but try to franchise it and lawyers show up.
Real Talk
Open source (or open weight) models are LLMs whose model weights are publicly released, enabling local deployment, fine-tuning, and modification. Notable examples include Meta's Llama, Mistral AI's models, and DeepSeek. Licensing varies — some are truly open source, others have usage restrictions.
When You'll Hear This
"We deploy an open source model on-prem for compliance reasons." / "Open source models are closing the gap with proprietary ones."
Related Terms
Fine-tuning
Fine-tuning is like taking a smart graduate student who knows everything and then sending them to a specialist bootcamp.
LLM (Large Language Model)
An LLM is a humongous AI that read basically the entire internet and learned to predict what words come next, really really well.
Local LLM
Running an AI model on your own computer instead of calling an API in the cloud. No internet needed, no API costs, total privacy. The tradeoff?
LoRA (Low-Rank Adaptation)
LoRA is how you fine-tune a massive AI model without needing a massive GPU budget.
Ollama
Ollama is Docker for AI models. One command downloads and runs any open-source AI model on your computer.