Issue Public research cannot follow frontier AI, and industry contracts bind the academics who do

Summary

This issue concerns the inability of public research to keep up with frontier AI and the constraints on academics who work with industry. The report names the gap between industry and academia as one of the most prominent in AI research, with companies producing 51 notable models in 2023 against 15 from universities. Academic institutions lack the funding and access to cutting-edge computing needed for independent frontier work. Researchers who collaborate with companies are often bound by strict non-disclosure agreements, which delay publication, limit what can be discussed and create intellectual property disputes. The report argues that academia needs its own infrastructure and support to carry out independent, impactful research.