Free Software Foundation calls for free-range LLMs rather than factory

F is for Free, FSF, and fat chance
Updated The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has rattled a saber at Anthropic over the use of its materials in training the AI vendor's models, urging it to set its LLMs free.

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One of the works found in the datasets used by Anthropic is Sam Williams's Free as in freedom: Richard Stallman's crusade for free software .

According to the FSF, the book was published by O'Reilly and the FSF under the GNU Free Documentation License (GNU FDL).

"This," wrote the FSF, "is a free license allowing use of the work for any purpose without payment."
"Therefore, we urge Anthropic and other LLM developers that train models using huge datasets downloaded from the Internet to provide these LLMs to their users in freedom."
It's laudable, but considering how much open source (code or otherwise) has already been slurped by AI vendors, this horse bolted long before anyone thought to close the stable door
The finger-wagging is unlikely to move vendors, Anthropic included, unless a future action actually reaches trial before a settlement makes it disappear.

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A spokesperson for the Free Software Foundation (FSF) told The Register that its intention was "to highlight a broader principle: when large language models are developed using vast datasets drawn from the Internet, the best outcome for users is one that protects and expands user freedom."