Use the smaller model: Which choice is most defensible?

AIGP Understanding How to Govern AI Development Medium

Choose the smaller adequate model because governance capacity is a design constraint, not an afterthought.

The question

A research administration office needs an AI tool to classify grant documents. A highly capable model would exceed the office’s monitoring and testing capacity, while a smaller model meets the classification accuracy needed for this low-consequence workflow. Which choice is most defensible?

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Select the larger model for its broader capabilities.
Broader capability does not justify exceeding the office’s ability to test and monitor a low-consequence classification workflow.
Use the smaller model. ✓
The smaller model meets the stated need within available governance resources, reducing capability-resource mismatch without sacrificing required performance.
Delay deployment until the office can support the larger model.
Delay is unnecessary when a suitable smaller model satisfies the use case and can be governed with existing capacity.
Deploy the larger model with vendor monitoring replacing internal oversight.
Vendor support may help, but it does not remove the office’s responsibility to understand and govern its selected application.

The trap

Choose capability that fits the use case and governance capacity, rather than maximizing technical sophistication.

How to remember it

Choose the smaller adequate model because governance capacity is a design constraint, not an afterthought.

How many of these would you get right?

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