# Open weights are not open source: Why AI's favorite label is under dispute

DevFeed: [Open weights are not open source: Why AI's favorite label is under dispute](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/open-weights-are-not-open-source-why-ai-s-favorite-label-is-under-dispute-26618.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://www.theregister.com/columnists/2026/09/15/open-weights-are-not-open-source-why-ais-favorite-label-is-under-dispute/5295436>)

Author: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

Published: 2026-09-15T08:30:00Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [www.theregister.com - Articles](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/www-theregister-com-articles.md>)

Topics: [Artificial Intelligence](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ai.md>), [Open Source](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/open-source.md>)

Tags: [ai](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ai.md>), [ai-and-ml](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ai-and-ml.md>), [columnists](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/columnists.md>), [open-source](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/open-source.md>)

## AI overview

The article examines the dispute over calling AI models with downloadable weights "open source." It distinguishes the ease of downloading a model from understanding how it was made or changing the system at its root.

## Source excerpt

Downloading a model is increasingly easy. Understanding how it was made, or changing a system at its root, is another matter