Irene Solaiman

When a new generative AI model is released, the chatbot or image generator, or the underlying model’s capabilities, get far more attention than any details such as how and to whom the model is released—whether or not it’s open-sourced or licensed for commercial use, for example. But such decisions are deeply consequential. 

More openness, for example, provides more opportunity to audit and evaluate the models—but also for bad actors to take advantage of them. More closed systems may concentrate power but limit the potential for harm. 

In 2019, Irene Solaiman, then a researcher and public policy manager at OpenAI, led a new approach to the release of GPT-2, a predecessor to ChatGPT, that considered how to balance certain safeguards so as to minimize harm while increasing openness. Solaiman recommended releasing new models in phases, allowing more time to test them and build in guardrails. OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta are now using this approach for ChatGPT, the new Bing search, and LLaMA, respectively. 

Solaiman, 28, has since left OpenAI as is now at AI startup Hugging Face, where she serves as global public policy director. She continues her work to build clear, standardized processes for how future AI models are released. And she’s continuing her work on other aspects of AI safety as well, including developing ways to ensure that a community’s cultural values are taken into account before new systems are deployed there. 

What ultimately motivates her, she says, is a desire to make sure that generative AI works well not only for its developers, but also for “people who aren’t interfacing with generative AI systems, but likely will be affected by AI.” In other words, everyone.