AI Map — Part 2: Free and Powerful: Open Source AI Models
This article is the second part of the Artificial Intelligence Map series. In the first part , we discussed proprietary models—ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and others. In this part, we’ll explore AI systems whose source code is publicly available, allowing you to run them on your own server if you choose. What Does Open Source Mean? With closed-source models, you couldn’t see behind the scenes—you had to trust the company and use it as is. With open-source models, the rules are different: the model’s weights, architecture, and often the training details are all publicly available. You can download it, run it on your own server, or build something new on top of it. But let’s be clear from the start: open source doesn’t mean “free.” Some models require a license for commercial use, while others are completely free. You need to read the license before using them. Open-Source Models LLaMA 4 — Meta Llama 4 Scout can perform real-time inference and supports multimodal input; it’s ideal for chat ...