Jensen Huang defends AI distillation as competition, not theft

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang weighed in on the growing debate over AI model distillation, a technique where smaller models are trained using outputs from larger, more powerful ones. Huang described the practice as normal competition within the AI industry rather than wrongdoing.

His comments contrast with those of U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has previously characterized distillation as a form of theft, raising concerns about how AI companies protect their intellectual property.

The disagreement highlights an unresolved tension in the AI industry over how proprietary model technology should be treated as competitors race to build cheaper, more efficient systems using techniques adapted from leading labs.