Elon Musk testifies that xAI trained Grok on OpenAI models
Elon Musk testifies that xAI trained Grok on OpenAI models
埃隆·马斯克作证称 xAI 使用 OpenAI 模型训练了 Grok
OpenAI and Anthropic have been on the warpath lately against third-party efforts to train new AI models by prompting their publicly accessible chatbots and APIs, a process known as “distillation.” That conversation has focused on Chinese firms using distillation to create open-weight models that are nearly as capable as U.S. offerings, but available at a much lower cost. 近期，OpenAI 和 Anthropic 一直在严厉打击第三方通过提示词（prompting）其公开聊天机器人和 API 来训练新 AI 模型的行为，这一过程被称为“蒸馏”（distillation）。目前的讨论主要集中在中国公司利用蒸馏技术创建开源权重模型，这些模型在能力上几乎与美国产品相当，但成本却低得多。
However, tech workers have widely assumed that American labs use these techniques on each other to avoid falling behind competitors. Now we know it’s true in at least one case: On the stand in a California federal court on Thursday, Elon Musk was asked if xAI has used distillation techniques on OpenAI models to train Grok, and he asserted it was a general practice among AI companies. Asked if that meant “yes,” he said, “Partly.” 然而，科技从业者普遍认为，美国实验室也在彼此之间使用这些技术，以避免落后于竞争对手。现在我们知道至少有一个案例证实了这一点：周四在加州联邦法院的证人席上，当被问及 xAI 是否使用蒸馏技术对 OpenAI 模型进行训练以开发 Grok 时，埃隆·马斯克断言这是 AI 公司间的普遍做法。当被问及这是否意味着“是”时，他回答说：“部分是。”
Musk is in the process of suing OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman, and Greg Brockman, alleging they breached the original nonprofit mission for OpenAI by shifting the entity to a for-profit structure. That trial began this week, featuring testimony from the tech leader. 马斯克目前正在起诉 OpenAI、首席执行官萨姆·奥特曼（Sam Altman）和格雷格·布罗克曼（Greg Brockman），指控他们将 OpenAI 转变为营利性结构，违背了其最初的非营利使命。该审判于本周开始，这位科技领袖在庭上作证。
Musk’s admission is notable because distillation threatens AI giants by undermining the advantage they’ve built by investing in compute infrastructure. This allows other software makers to create models that are nearly as capable on the cheap. There’s no small amount of irony here, given the bending and alleged breaking of copyright rules by frontier labs in their search for sufficient data to train their models. 马斯克的承认值得注意，因为蒸馏技术通过削弱 AI 巨头在计算基础设施投资上建立的优势，对它们构成了威胁。这使得其他软件开发商能够以低廉的成本创建出能力相当的模型。考虑到前沿实验室在寻找充足数据来训练模型时，对版权规则的曲解甚至涉嫌违规，这其中充满了讽刺意味。
It’s no surprise that Musk’s xAI, which started in 2023, years after OpenAI, would try to learn from the then-leader in the field. It’s not clear that distillation is explicitly illegal, but rather may violate the terms of service companies set for the user of their products. 马斯克的 xAI 成立于 2023 年，比 OpenAI 晚了几年，它试图向当时该领域的领导者学习并不令人意外。目前尚不清楚蒸馏技术是否明确违法，但它可能违反了公司为其产品用户设定的服务条款。
OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google have reportedly launched an initiative through the Frontier Model Forum to share information about how to combat distillation attempts from China. These typically involve systematic querying of models to understand their inner workings. To stop the efforts, frontier labs are working to prevent users from making suspicious mass queries. OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment on Musk’s admission at press time. 据报道，OpenAI、Anthropic 和 Google 已通过“前沿模型论坛”（Frontier Model Forum）发起了一项倡议，旨在分享如何应对来自中国的蒸馏尝试。这些尝试通常涉及对模型进行系统性查询，以了解其内部运作机制。为了阻止这些行为，前沿实验室正在努力防止用户进行可疑的大规模查询。截至发稿时，OpenAI 未回应关于马斯克供词的置评请求。
Later in his testimony, Musk was asked about a claim he made last summer that xAI would soon be far beyond any company besides Google. In response, he ranked the world’s leading AI providers, saying Anthropic held the top spot, followed by OpenAI, Google, and Chinese open source models. He characterized xAI as a much smaller company with just a few hundred employees. 在随后的证词中，马斯克被问及他去年夏天声称 xAI 很快将超越除 Google 之外的任何公司的言论。作为回应，他为全球领先的 AI 提供商进行了排名，称 Anthropic 占据首位，其次是 OpenAI、Google 和中国的开源模型。他将 xAI 描述为一家仅有几百名员工的小公司。