Model Landscape

Model families, open vs closed weights, multimodal and small models, model cards

• Model Families — The landscape organized the way it actually moves: families, not models — who builds them, how they release, and how to keep a map that survives next quarter. (3 lessons, 40 min)
• Open vs Closed Weights — “Open” is a spectrum, not a switch: what weights availability actually grants, what the license fine print takes back, and the trade that decides deployments. (3 lessons, 45 min)
• Multimodal Models — Images, audio, and video join the token stream: what multimodal actually means inside the model, and what it changes at the meter. (3 lessons, 40 min)
• Small Language Models — The counter-trend that matters: why small models keep winning real workloads, who builds them, and how small gets made good. (3 lessons, 40 min)
• Reasoning Models in the Landscape — Thinking became a product tier: reasoning variants across the families, the documented effort dials, and when to pay for thought. (3 lessons, 40 min)
• In Production: Reading a Model Card and Choosing a Model — The domain’s production capstone — and the site’s closing skill: the model-card anatomy, the shortlist protocol, and staying current without chasing. (3 lessons, 45 min)