The Open Source Advantage in Large Language Models (LLMs)
Authors: name: Jiya Manchanda, name: Laura Boettcher, name: Matheus Westphalen, name: Jasser Jasser

Large language models (LLMs) mark a key shift in natural language processing
(NLP), having advanced text generation, translation, and domain-specific
reasoning. Closed-source models like GPT-4, powered by proprietary datasets and
extensive computational resources, lead with state-of-the-art performance
today. However, they face criticism for their "black box" nature and for
limiting accessibility in a manner that hinders reproducibility and equitable
AI development. By contrast, open-source initiatives like LLaMA and BLOOM
prioritize democratization through community-driven development and
computational efficiency. These models have significantly reduced performance
gaps, particularly in linguistic diversity and domain-specific applications,
while providing accessible tools for global researchers and developers.
Notably, both paradigms rely on foundational architectural innovations, such as
the Transformer framework by Vaswani et al. (2017). Closed-source models excel
by scaling effectively, while open-source models adapt to real-world
applications in underrepresented languages and domains. Techniques like
Low-Rank Adaptation (LoRA) and instruction-tuning datasets enable open-source
models to achieve competitive results despite limited resources. To be sure,
the tension between closed-source and open-source approaches underscores a
broader debate on transparency versus proprietary control in AI. Ethical
considerations further highlight this divide. Closed-source systems restrict
external scrutiny, while open-source models promote reproducibility and
collaboration but lack standardized auditing documentation frameworks to
mitigate biases. Hybrid approaches that leverage the strengths of both
paradigms are likely to shape the future of LLM innovation, ensuring
accessibility, competitive technical performance, and ethical deployment.