In this episode of Interpreting India, host Shruti Mittal, research analyst in the Technology and Society Program at Carnegie India, speaks with Chinmayi Sharma, associate professor of law at Fordham Law School and nonresident fellow at the Stoss Center, the Center for Democracy and Technology, and the Atlantic Council. Together, they explore the evolving and often misunderstood debate on openness in artificial intelligence. Drawing from her forthcoming paper, Unbundling AI Openness, in the Wisconsin Law Review, Sharma explains why the traditional “open versus closed” framing oversimplifies the reality of modern AI development. She introduces the concept of “differential openness,” a framework that views AI systems as composed of multiple interdependent components—each existing along its own spectrum of openness and carrying distinct implications for innovation, safety, democratic accountability, and national security.