Commission proposes a “two tier compromise solution” for foundation models

According to an AWO Agency newsletter quoting from Contexte during the trilogue meetings on 2 & 3 October, the Commission proposed a way forwards for foundation models that resemble the approach we had suggested in our July Policy Paper on Supporting Open Source and Open Science in the EU AI Act:

Moreover, when discussing foundation models and general purpose AI during the trilogue, the Commission verbally proposed working on “a two-tier compromise solution”. The idea would be to apply a series of best practices (such as documentation, source verification, testing, etc.) to foundation models. And to consider more obligations – such as evaluation or third-party audits (“red-teaming”) – for foundation models and general-purpose AI systems with significant impact, a source at the Commission tells us. “The threshold for making this distinction is not yet clear”, but “size could be a criterion”, says another source. This option will be presented to member states on October 6.