A Cartography of Open Collaboration in Open Source AI: Mapping Practices, Motivations, and Governance in 14 Open Large Language Model Projects

arXiv:2509.25397v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: The proliferation of open large language models (LLMs) is fostering a vibrant ecosystem in artificial intelligence (AI). However, the methods of collaboration used to develop open LLMs, both before and after their public release, have not yet been systematically studied, limiting our understanding of how open LLM projects are initiated, organised, and governed, as well as the opportunities to further foster this ecosystem. We address this gap through an exploratory analysis of open collaboration throughout the development and reuse life