Re: Concerns to software freedom when packaging deep-learning based appications.

Lumin writes ("Concerns to software freedom when packaging deep-learning based appications."):
>  1. Is GPL-licended pretrained neural network REALLY FREE? Is it really
>     DFSG-compatible?

No.  No.

Things in Debian main shoudl be buildable *from source* using Debian
main.  In the case of a pretrained neural network, the source code is
the training data.

In fact, they are probably not redistributable unless all the training
data is supplied, since the GPL's definition of "source code" is the
"preferred form for modification".  For a pretrained neural network
that is the training data.

>  2. How should we deal with pretrained neural networks when some of us
>     want to package similar things? Should it go contrib?

If upstream claims it is GPL, and doesn't supply training data, I
think it can't even go to contrib.

If upstream does not claim to be supplying source code, or they supply
the training data, then I guess it can go to contrib.

Note that the *use* of these kind of algorithms for many purposes is
deeply troublesome.  Depending on the application, it might cause
legal complications such as difficulties complying with the European
GDPR, illegal race/sex/etc. discrimination, and of course it comes
with big ethical problems.

:-/

Ian.

-- 
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