Explain like I'm five · AI Security

What is a Model Card?

Model cards, told as a story about the label a guest reads before ordering a dish.

will this dish suit me?the dish doesn't say anything backa guest who can't handle spice — but it looks just the samelooking at the plate alone, you can't tell if this dish suits you

Looking at the plate alone, you can't tell if this dish suits you.Whether it's spicy, whether it's fine for a child — nothing says so.

all four look like the exact same platefine for a childhas a spicy ingredienta new dish, still being testeda well-tested dishunless the chef writes it down separately, the guest orders by looks alone

They all look like the exact same plate.Unless the chef writes it down separately, the guest orders by looks alone.

DISH LABELintended for — who this dish suitslimits — when not to order itingredient summary — what it's made ofknown issues — what's still being fixeda model card = the label a guest reads before orderingthe certificate is for inside the kitchen — the label is for the guest

A model card is the label a guest reads before ordering.The certificate is for inside the kitchen — the label is for the guest.

State the intended usewho this dish is meant for
State the limitswhen not to order it
Summarize the ingredientsroughly what it's made from
List known issueseven what's still being fixed
THIS DISH'S LABELintended for — answering simple questionsnot for — medical or legal advicemade from — public writing, book summariesknown issue — often wrong on arithmeticreads it before orderingdecides whether to post it

The label states the intended use, limits, ingredients, and known issues.The guest reads it before ordering; the manager reads it when deciding whether to post it.

LABELthe guest reads itposted before servingthe certificate is about origin — the label is about usethe label is posted, but no one reads itposting it doesn't guarantee the guest reads itthe AIBOM is the kitchen's own certificate; the model card is the guest's label — different papers, different readers

The certificate is about origin — the label is about use.The ingredient certificate from the same batch is for inside the kitchen; the model card is for the guest — but posting it doesn't guarantee anyone actually reads it.

In one breath

A model card = the label a guest reads before ordering. It states this dish's intended use, limits, ingredient summary, and known issues.

A model card is a document that publishes a model's intended use, out-of-scope uses, a summary of its training data, and its performance and limitations. Where an AIBOM records the provenance of what went into the model for people inside the kitchen — engineers, auditors — a model card is the usage guide for the people who will actually use the model: developers and end users. Both come from the same release, but they serve different readers and purposes.

When grown-ups say it

Model card
The dish's label. A document the guest reads before ordering, stating what it's for and when not to use it.
Intended use
Who this dish is meant for. The first line on the label.
Out-of-scope use
When not to order it. Places this dish doesn't belong, like medical or legal advice.
vs. the ingredient certificate
The certificate is for the kitchen; the label is for the guest. Its companion from the same release. → the ingredient origin certificate
Open-weight model
A recipe anyone can pick up and use. The more public the recipe, the more the label matters. → the parrot world's open weights
Evaluation of limits
Checking ahead of time where this dish tends to go wrong. The numbers on the label come from this kind of testing. → the parrot world's evaluation
Red-team check
The inspector takes one more look before it's posted. The "known issues" line often comes straight from red-teaming. → the security world's red team
Transparency
Posting it instead of hiding it. Having a label at all is where transparency begins.
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