Linux started out pretty mediocre compared to closed source Unix, and even today there are operating systems that are better, but being freely available made it a game changer. I don’t foresee Dalle2 being open any time soon.
I'm struggling with the connection you're making between Linux and Stable Diffusion.
Linus didn't invent the core concepts of Unix. He copied the (arguably) good parts from an (arguably) closed ecosystem. His big innovation was leveraging the internet to create a new kind of community not really seen before it. The Linux bazaar gave smart developers excluded from the Bell Labs / BSD cathedral a place to be productive in that style on their own terms and others used it to disrupt the OS business. A lot of shit gets into Linux that the community turns into useful things.
I look at the inputs/outputs of Stable Diffusion and am reminded of the fractal craze of the 80's which revealed the underlying simplicity of incredibly complex looking things. Lots of interesting art and technology came out of that but I don't think anything like the Linux community did.
