Acceptable Use Policies for Foundation Models

Policymakers hoping to regulate foundation models have focused on preventing specific objectionable uses of AI systems, such as the creation of bioweapons, deepfakes, and child sexual abuse material. Effectively blocking these uses can be difficult in the case of foundation models as they are general-purpose technologies that in principle can be used to generate any type of content. Nevertheless, foundation model developers have been proactive in this area, adopting broad acceptable use policies that prohibit many dangerous uses that developers select themselves as part of their terms of service or model licenses. As part of the 2023 Foundation Model Transparency Index, researchers at the Stanford Center for Research on Foundation Models catalogued the acceptable use policies of 10 leading foundation model developers. All 10 companies publicly disclose the permitted, restricted, and prohibited uses of their models, but there is little additional information available about these policies or how they are implemented. Only 3 of 10 leading foundation model developers disclose how they enforce their acceptable use policy, while only 2 of 10 give any justification to users when they enforce the policy. We provide background on acceptable use policies for foundation models, a preliminary analysis of 30 developers’ acceptable use policies, and a discussion of policy considerations related to developers’ attempts to restrict the use of their foundation models.