Community participation to ensure fitness of fine-tuned foundation models

Identify mechanisms by which affected communities can participate in ensuring that a fine-tuned foundation model is fit for purpose for its intended downstream use.

Background

The paper argues that while fine-tuning can adapt a foundation model to specific tasks, fine-tuned models inherit limitations and biases from the base model. This raises practical and governance challenges for enabling meaningful community participation in validating and shaping fine-tuned models for particular contexts.

Given the scale and centralization of foundation model development, the authors highlight uncertainty about the structures and processes that would allow communities to ensure that fine-tuned models meet context-specific needs and standards of appropriateness.