Ep. 59: WTF Is a Frontier Model?

Prompting Curiosity

Ep. 59: WTF Is a Frontier Model?

Play Episode Pause Episode

1x

00:00 / 00:15:18

Apple Podcasts Spotify

RSS Feed

Share

Link

Embed

<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="7bFA0QaLW1"><a href="https://promptingcuriosity.com/podcast/ep-59-wtf-is-a-frontier-model/">Ep. 59: WTF Is a Frontier Model?</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://promptingcuriosity.com/podcast/ep-59-wtf-is-a-frontier-model/embed/#?secret=7bFA0QaLW1" width="500" height="350" title="&#8220;Ep. 59: WTF Is a Frontier Model?&#8221; &#8212; Prompting Curiosity" data-secret="7bFA0QaLW1" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script> /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); //# sourceURL=https://promptingcuriosity.com/wp-includes/js/wp-embed.min.js </script>

In this episode I break down WTF a frontier model actually is, starting with what most people assume the term means versus the real technical definition. I cover how "frontier model" got coined in 2023, and why the term even came about at all, and how self-naming benefitted its creators. A bit of an etymology episode, this episode is more about the background of the term, and explores how new open weight models are challenging the definition.

Main Topics Covered

• WTF is a frontier model?
• Most people's assumption vs. the technical definition
• Origin of the term: the Frontier Model Forum (July 2023)
• FMF's official definition of "frontier model"
• EU AI Act's compute-based definition
• Who made the rules
• FMF today: expanded membership, safety research, AI Safety Fund
• Why forming the FMF actually benefited these companies
• Open weight models and "frontier-grade" labels
• How I used AI this week: building my mom a workout tracker

Links & Resources for This Episode

• Listen to Ep. 55: Weight, What? An Introduction to Open Source AI Models
• Read this episode's Curious Companion
• Subscribe to the Prompting Curiosity newsletter
• Submit a Question
• Visit the Website
• Feeling curious AND generous? Click here to support the podcast.