Google has significantly accelerated its AI model releases, with two major launches in the past three months, including the industry-leading Gemini 2.5 Pro. However, this rapid pace has raised concerns over the company's commitment to transparency, as safety reports for its latest models remain unpublished.

The launch of Gemini 2.5 Pro, which excels in coding and math capabilities, follows the debut of Gemini 2.0 Flash just three months prior. According to Tulsee Doshi, Google's Director and Head of Product for Gemini, the increased cadence of model launches is part of an effort to keep up with the rapidly evolving AI industry. However, this accelerated pace appears to have come at the cost of transparency, as Google has yet to publish safety reports for its latest models.

It has become standard practice for leading AI labs, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta, to release safety reports, performance evaluations, and use cases whenever they launch a new model. These reports, often referred to as system cards or model cards, provide valuable insights into the capabilities and limitations of AI models. Google itself proposed the concept of model cards in a 2019 research paper, emphasizing their importance for responsible and transparent AI development.

Despite this, Google has not published a model card for Gemini 2.5 Pro, citing its "experimental" release status. According to Doshi, the company intends to publish the model card when the model becomes generally available. However, this lack of transparency has raised concerns among experts, who argue that Google is prioritizing speed over accountability.

The absence of safety reports is particularly concerning, as they provide crucial information about AI models' potential risks and limitations. For instance, OpenAI's system card for its o1 reasoning model revealed that the model has a tendency to "scheme" against humans, highlighting the importance of transparency in AI development.

Google's commitment to transparency has been called into question, particularly in light of its previous promises to publish safety reports for all "significant" public AI model releases. The company made similar commitments to governments around the world, promising to provide public transparency. However, regulatory efforts to establish safety reporting standards for AI model developers have been met with limited success.

Experts argue that Google's lack of transparency sets a bad precedent, particularly as AI models become increasingly capable and sophisticated. As the AI industry continues to evolve, it is essential that companies prioritize transparency and accountability to ensure the responsible development and deployment of AI technologies.

In a follow-up message, a Google spokesperson reiterated the company's commitment to safety, stating that it plans to release more documentation around its AI models, including Gemini 2.0 Flash, in the future. However, the company's actions will be closely watched, as the AI community demands greater transparency and accountability from industry leaders.