In this episode I break down WTF a frontier model actually is, starting with what most people assume the term means versus the real technical definition. I cover how "frontier model" got coined in 2023, and why the term even came about at all, and how self-naming benefitted its creators. A bit of an etymology episode, this episode is more about the background of the term, and explores how new open weight models are challenging the definition.

• WTF is a frontier model?
• Most people's assumption vs. the technical definition
• Origin of the term: the Frontier Model Forum (July 2023)
• FMF's official definition of "frontier model"
• EU AI Act's compute-based definition
• Who made the rules
• FMF today: expanded membership, safety research, AI Safety Fund
• Why forming the FMF actually benefited these companies
• Open weight models and "frontier-grade" labels
• How I used AI this week: building my mom a workout tracker

• Listen to Ep. 55: Weight, What? An Introduction to Open Source AI Models
• Read this episode's Curious Companion
• Subscribe to the Prompting Curiosity newsletter
• Submit a Question
• Visit the Website
• Feeling curious AND generous? Click here to support the podcast.

• (00:00:05) - Prompting Curiosity: The AI Curious
• (00:00:38) - Predicting Curiosity: Frontier Models
• (00:01:30) - The Frontier Model Forum and its Impact
• (00:05:56) - Frontier: The Frontier Group
• (00:08:07) - What's the Frontier?
• (00:10:00) - How I Used Claude for AI This Week
• (00:14:15) - AI Curious: A Podcast About Curious People