Foundation Model Transparency Reports
Rishi Bommasani Kevin Klyman Shayne Longpre Betty Xiong Sayash Kapoor Nestor Maslej Arvind Narayanan Percy Liang
Foundation models are critical digital technologies with sweeping societal
impact that necessitates transparency. To codify how foundation model
developers should provide transparency about the development and deployment of
their models, we propose Foundation Model Transparency Reports, drawing upon
the transparency reporting practices in social media. While external
documentation of societal harms prompted social media transparency reports, our
objective is to institutionalize transparency reporting for foundation models
while the industry is still nascent. To design our reports, we identify 6
design principles given the successes and shortcomings of social media
transparency reporting. To further schematize our reports, we draw upon the 100
transparency indicators from the Foundation Model Transparency Index. Given
these indicators, we measure the extent to which they overlap with the
transparency requirements included in six prominent government policies (e.g.,
the EU AI Act, the US Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy AI).
Well-designed transparency reports could reduce compliance costs, in part due
to overlapping regulatory requirements across different jurisdictions. We
encourage foundation model developers to regularly publish transparency
reports, building upon recommendations from the G7 and the White House.