On the Standardization of Behavioral Use Clauses and Their Adoption for Responsible Licensing of AI

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the adoption and adaptation of behavioral use clauses in responsible AI licenses, emphasizing the need for standardization and customizable frameworks to effectively manage AI risks.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of responsible AI license adoption, proposing a standardized yet customizable approach to behavioral restrictions in AI licensing.

Findings

Approximately 40,000 repositories use responsible AI licenses.

Notable models like BLOOM, LLaMA2, and Stable Diffusion adopt behavioral clauses.

Standardization is essential to prevent confusion and maintain impact.

Abstract

Growing concerns over negligent or malicious uses of AI have increased the appetite for tools that help manage the risks of the technology. In 2018, licenses with behaviorial-use clauses (commonly referred to as Responsible AI Licenses) were proposed to give developers a framework for releasing AI assets while specifying their users to mitigate negative applications. As of the end of 2023, on the order of 40,000 software and model repositories have adopted responsible AI licenses licenses. Notable models licensed with behavioral use clauses include BLOOM (language) and LLaMA2 (language), Stable Diffusion (image), and GRID (robotics). This paper explores why and how these licenses have been adopted, and why and how they have been adapted to fit particular use cases. We use a mixed-methods methodology of qualitative interviews, clustering of license clauses, and quantitative analysis of license adoption. Based on this evidence we take the position that responsible AI licenses need standardization to avoid confusing users or diluting their impact. At the same time, customization of behavioral restrictions is also appropriate in some contexts (e.g., medical domains). We advocate for ``standardized customization'' that can meet users' needs and can be supported via tooling.