New Delhi, July 27 -- In July, a Chinese company released an AI model called Kimi K3. On many tasks, it matches the best that American firms have built. What sets it apart is that it is 'open-weight.' Anyone can download it. Anyone can run it on their own computer. Anyone can change it. And it costs almost nothing.

This is now a pattern. DeepSeek did it last year. Others have followed. For the world, this is mostly good news. Open models put real capability in ordinary hands.

A small firm, university, hospital or a researcher with no budget-all can now use tools that were until recently the property of a few rich labs. Open models spread power outwards, away from a handful of firms in America and China. That is worth having.

But there ...