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What are Foundation Models?

Foundation Models are large-scale AI models, often transformers, trained on vast amounts of broad, diverse data that can be adapted to perform a wide variety of downstream tasks, serving as a "foundation" for many different applications. The term emphasizes both their scale (typically billions of parameters) and their role as a single, multipurpose base that can power numerous AI applications.

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Foundation Models mentioned at Stanford HAI

Explore Similar Terms:

Large Language Model (LLM) | Transfer Learning | Transformer

See Full List of Terms & Definitions

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On the Societal Impact of Open Foundation Models
Sayash Kapoor, Rishi Bommasani, Daniel E. Ho, Percy Liang
and Arvind Narayanan
Feb 27
news

New research adds precision to the debate on openness in AI.

On the Societal Impact of Open Foundation Models

Sayash Kapoor, Rishi Bommasani, Daniel E. Ho, Percy Liang
and Arvind Narayanan
Feb 27

New research adds precision to the debate on openness in AI.

news
Introducing The Foundation Model Transparency Index
Katharine Miller
Oct 18
news
Your browser does not support the video tag.

A new index rates the transparency of 10 foundation model companies and finds them lacking.

Introducing The Foundation Model Transparency Index

Katharine Miller
Oct 18

A new index rates the transparency of 10 foundation model companies and finds them lacking.

Machine Learning
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news
How Foundation Models Can Advance AI in Healthcare
Jason Fries, Scott Fleming, Michael Wornow, Nigam Shah
Ethan Steinberg, Yizhe Xu, Keith Morse, Dev Dash
Dec 15
news

This new class of models may lead to more affordable, easily adaptable health AI.

How Foundation Models Can Advance AI in Healthcare

Jason Fries, Scott Fleming, Michael Wornow, Nigam Shah
Ethan Steinberg, Yizhe Xu, Keith Morse, Dev Dash
Dec 15

This new class of models may lead to more affordable, easily adaptable health AI.

Healthcare
news
Can Foundation Models Help Us Achieve “Perfect Secrecy”?
Nikki Goth Itoi
Aug 01
news

A new study explores how to apply machine learning to digital assistants in a way that could better protect our data.

Can Foundation Models Help Us Achieve “Perfect Secrecy”?

Nikki Goth Itoi
Aug 01

A new study explores how to apply machine learning to digital assistants in a way that could better protect our data.

Machine Learning
news
Response to NTIA’s Request for Comment on Dual Use Open Foundation Models
Researchers from Stanford HAI
Mar 27
response to request

Stanford scholars respond to a federal RFC on dual use foundation models with widely available model weights, urging policymakers to consider their marginal risks.

Response to NTIA’s Request for Comment on Dual Use Open Foundation Models

Researchers from Stanford HAI
Mar 27

Stanford scholars respond to a federal RFC on dual use foundation models with widely available model weights, urging policymakers to consider their marginal risks.

Foundation Models
Regulation, Policy, Governance
Privacy, Safety, Security
response to request
Can Foundation Models Be Safe When Adversaries Can Customize Them?
Peter Henderson
Nov 02
news

Researchers show that ChatGPT can be jailbroken with only 20 cents, but they are working on making this more difficult with “self-destructing models.”

Can Foundation Models Be Safe When Adversaries Can Customize Them?

Peter Henderson
Nov 02

Researchers show that ChatGPT can be jailbroken with only 20 cents, but they are working on making this more difficult with “self-destructing models.”

Machine Learning
news
Foundation Models and Copyright Questions
Peter Henderson, Xuechen Li, Dan Jurafsky, Tatsunori Hashimoto, Mark A. Lemley, Percy Liang
Quick ReadNov 02
policy brief

This brief warns that fair use may not fully shield U.S. foundation models trained on copyrighted data and calls for combined legal and technical safeguards to protect creators.

Foundation Models and Copyright Questions

Peter Henderson, Xuechen Li, Dan Jurafsky, Tatsunori Hashimoto, Mark A. Lemley, Percy Liang
Quick ReadNov 02

This brief warns that fair use may not fully shield U.S. foundation models trained on copyrighted data and calls for combined legal and technical safeguards to protect creators.

Foundation Models
Regulation, Policy, Governance
policy brief