Beyond Release: Access Considerations for Generative AI Systems
Authors: name: Irene Solaiman, name: Rishi Bommasani, name: Dan Hendrycks, name: Ariel Herbert-Voss, name: Yacine Jernite, name: Aviya Skowron, name: Andrew Trask

Generative AI release decisions determine whether system components are made
available, but release does not address many other elements that change how
users and stakeholders are able to engage with a system. Beyond release, access
to system components informs potential risks and benefits. Access refers to
practical needs, infrastructurally, technically, and societally, in order to
use available components in some way. We deconstruct access along three axes:
resourcing, technical usability, and utility. Within each category, a set of
variables per system component clarify tradeoffs. For example, resourcing
requires access to computing infrastructure to serve model weights. We also
compare the accessibility of four high performance language models, two
open-weight and two closed-weight, showing similar considerations for all based
instead on access variables. Access variables set the foundation for being able
to scale or increase access to users; we examine the scale of access and how
scale affects ability to manage and intervene on risks. This framework better
encompasses the landscape and risk-benefit tradeoffs of system releases to
inform system release decisions, research, and policy.