An LLM is an equation, fundamentally. Map a word to a number, equation, map back to words and now llm. If you're curious write a name generator using torch with an rnn (plenty of tutorials online) and you'll have a good idea.
The parameters of the equation are referred to as weights. They release the weights but may not have released:
- source code for training
- there source code for inference / validation
- training data
- cleaning scripts
- logs, git history, development notes etc.
Open source is typically more concerned with the open nature of the code base to foster community engagement and less on the price of the resulting software.
Curiously, open weighted LLM development has somewhat flipped this on its head. Where the resulting software is freely accessible and distributed, but the source code and material is less accessible.
The whole notion of LSP has been nice.