Learn · a trick with a name
Borrowed Engine
it beats the thing it is secretly calling.
A product beats the leader while quietly calling the leader underneath.
How to spot it
- 'Our model' with no detail on what's inside
- Performance that tracks a known model suspiciously closely
- Costs or outages that mirror another provider's
The one question to ask“What is it actually running on?”
At work
Ask vendors which foundation model they use. If they won't say, assume you're paying a margin on someone else's.
Caught in the wild
Every time we've caught it so far. Try calling each one before you open it.
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