Definition
Plain language
The numbers inside a neural network that define what it has learned.
As stated in the literature
The trainable parameters of a neural network, typically the matrices and biases in its layers, learned via gradient descent.
Also called: weight
Why it matters: Whether a model's weights are public or private fundamentally shapes who can use, study, fine-tune, or audit it.
For example, a 7-billion-parameter model's 'weights' are the 7 billion specific numbers that, together with its architecture, define how it responds to every prompt.
Heard on the show
“Among the files on the old server: the weight file for another AI agent, last modified in twenty-twenty-four.”Episode 001 — When AI Models Quietly Protect Each Other From Shutdown