Distillation is More Than Just Low-Cost Replication
teortaxesTex · x · 2026-07-19
The author argues that when discussing distillation, we shouldn't only focus on the ability to cheaply acquire capabilities; we must also consider the long-term costs of over-relying on it.
They specifically point out that if model capabilities are already comparable, assuming Chinese labs can effortlessly absorb Anthropic's data labeling and RL breakthroughs at a low cost and with zero drawbacks is a highly naive perspective.
Related event: The Hidden Costs of Over-Relying on Model Distillation(2 posts)→
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