Accountability diffusion in layered foundation model ecosystems

Establish how accountability for harms should be allocated across the foundation, subfloor, and surface layers in a layered foundation model ecosystem to resolve diffusion of responsibility.

Background

The authors propose a three-layer blueprint—foundation (base models), subfloor (domain-specific infrastructure, norms, and governance), and surface (applications)—to enable meaningful participation. However, they caution that distributing roles across layers risks diffusing accountability for harms.

They note that scholars have not yet resolved how responsibility should be assigned when harms emerge in such layered ecosystems, emphasizing the need for clear accountability frameworks.