Weight‑fingerprint model provenance

Researchers can extract initialization‑level fingerprints from model checkpoints that reveal the kind of chips or vendor configurations used to create starting weights. When paired with physical‑chip checks and open reproduction code, these fingerprints provide a new, reproducible signal about where and how models began, without definitively locating training sites. — If robust, the method creates a new technical lever for export‑control enforcement, supply‑chain accountability, and public debate about cross‑border access to frontier compute.