Open weights AI is like open-source software, where the creator makes the raw code publicly available for free download. If AI becomes the linchpin of the future, open weights AI feels like the sort of thing that could be the difference between being free yeomen vs. corporate serfs. Open weights AI could be used for hacking, child pornography, harassment, or terrorism (the weights can’t commit the terrorism themselves, but they could give bomb-making or bioweapon-making advice). It doesn’t help that China produces the best open weights AI, making the idea seem foreign and almost unpatriotic. Proponents counter that “when AI is outlawed, only outlaws will have AI”, arguing that bad people will get open weights AI regardless, and good people can use open weights AI to defend themselves.