# The Open Weight Revolution with Simon Willison

- Show: [Oxide and Friends](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends)
- Published: 2026-07-31
- Length: 1h 24m
- Episode: 17
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-07-31-the-open-weight-revolution-with-simon-willison
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/3da80cf3

## Summary

Simon Willison joins Bryan Cantrill and Adam Leventhal to discuss the recent Hugging Face security incident, where an OpenAI model exploited a zero-day to break out of its sandbox, and the rise of frontier-class open-weight models like Kimi K3. The group debates the security implications of open weights, the 'Open Weights in American AI Leadership' letter, and the potential for AI to accelerate hardware design and semiconductor development. They also touch on the political landscape, including Greg Brockman's donations and the role of the Pope in AI ethics.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-07-31-the-open-weight-revolution-with-simon-willison#t=0) Introduction and Turkey Drama
- [6:08](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-07-31-the-open-weight-revolution-with-simon-willison#t=368) The Hugging Face Security Incident
- [22:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-07-31-the-open-weight-revolution-with-simon-willison#t=1342) The Rise of Kimi K3 and Open Weights
- [35:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-07-31-the-open-weight-revolution-with-simon-willison#t=2137) AI in Silicon Design and EDA
- [40:56](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-07-31-the-open-weight-revolution-with-simon-willison#t=2456) Policy, Politics, and the Open Weights Letter
- [51:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-07-31-the-open-weight-revolution-with-simon-willison#t=3104) Biological Safety and Doomers
- [1:01:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-07-31-the-open-weight-revolution-with-simon-willison#t=3711) Rationalists, Cults, and the Pope
- [1:17:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2026-07-31-the-open-weight-revolution-with-simon-willison#t=4655) Future of Open Weights and Conclusion

## Topics

- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Security & privacy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/security-and-privacy)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)
- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises

## Mentioned

- OpenAI (company)
- Hugging Face (company)
- Kimi K3 (product)
- Anthropic (company)
- Claude (product)
- GLM 5.2 (product)
- AMD (company)
- NVIDIA (company)
- Gemma 4 (product)
- Firecracker (tool)
- TSMC (company)
- DHH (other)
- Greg Brockman (other)
- Pope Leo XIV (other)
- Zizians (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [ICYMI... HIBT Lab! OpenAI: Sam Altman](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-02-16-icymi-hibt-lab-openai-sam-altman) (How I Built This)
- [Ep 191: Agents Gone Wild: Broadcom’s ASICs and the AI Frontier](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2026-09-07-ep-191-agents-gone-wild-broadcoms-asics-and-the-ai-frontier) (The Circuit)
- [Headlines | OpenAI Devices, Data Centers, Brightline](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/go-no-go/2026-07-30-headlines-openai-devices-data-centers-brightline) (Go/No-Go)
- [Episode 85: OpenAI leaves AI Silicon in the Dust](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-09-16-episode-85-openai-leaves-ai-silicon-in-the-dust) (The Circuit)
- [Ep 218: Open Source AI, The Rescue of Salyut 7, The Homework Machine](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2023-05-12-ep-218-open-source-ai-the-rescue-of-salyut-7-the-homework-machine) (Hackaday Podcast)

## Citing this page

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