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Equation 5 · The Hardest Unsolved Problems in Open-Weight AI

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qq

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the probability. Read the equation part by part below; each part has a contextual explanation and a link to its mathematical background.

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qq

Symbol q

the probability.

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This is a deliberately simplified model — real retention decisions are not independent, and q is not a single fixed number — but it isolates the right variable. Because copying an already-downloaded checkpoint costs approximately nothing, N grows with every re-share, and P(at least one surviving copy\text{at least one surviving copy}) climbs toward one almost as soon as distribution starts, for any q short of certainty. This is a restatement, in one line of algebra, of what NTIA’s 2024 report and RAND’s 2024 report both conclude in prose: monitoring and mitigation are the available tools, and recall is not among them [ 2 , 3 ] .

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