--- title: "SmolLM3 family | Ethical Stack" url: https://ethicalstack.ai/models/smollm3/ catalog_version: f6baff2119d0e9158520da7fbe4232011dac79f25bd08757436d7a1dbd593db2 --- # SmolLM3 family Compact multilingual instruction model with hybrid reasoning and long-context support; the released family centers on 3B checkpoints. Canonical profile: https://ethicalstack.ai/models/smollm3/ Scope: HuggingFaceTB SmolLM3 3B base and instruction checkpoints. Published overall: 4.6; 5/6 dimensions rated. Round the equal-weight mean of available numerical ratings to one decimal; require at least four of six for an overall score. BDS status stays outside the mean; for eligible profiles, a boycott target caps the final score at 2/10 and a pressure target subtracts one point (minimum 1). Not listed and not checked do not adjust the score. ## Energy practices Finding: 2/10 Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/models/smollm3/#energy This is a practices and disclosure score for the named release, not a request-level energy or emissions estimate. Reason: 1 + 1 reporting + 0 electricity + 0 controls = 2/10. This grades documented practices and transparency. Argument: The official card reports 384 H100 GPUs for training and a staged token count. It gives no energy, emissions, or water measurements. The rubric rewards documented reporting and controls; it does not infer high consumption from missing measurements. Type: argument; confidence: low Scope (dimension): HuggingFaceTB SmolLM3 3B base and instruction checkpoints. Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded Unknowns: No comparable per-request electricity, emissions, water, regional serving mix, or independently reviewed model footprint is established in the cited sources. ```json { "method": "practices-transparency-v1", "scope": "HuggingFaceTB SmolLM3 3B base and instruction checkpoints.", "components": { "disclosure": { "score": 1, "reason": "The official card reports 384 H100 GPUs for training and a staged token count. It gives no energy, emissions, or water measurements.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B", "https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B-Base", "https://huggingface.co/collections/HuggingFaceTB/smollm3" ] }, "electricity": { "score": 0, "reason": "No model-specific clean-electricity sourcing or hourly power evidence is published in the reviewed sources; zero means unestablished, not dirty electricity.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B", "https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B-Base", "https://huggingface.co/collections/HuggingFaceTB/smollm3" ] }, "demand": { "score": 0, "reason": "No model-specific documented control or measured physical resource reduction is established by the reviewed release materials. Public weights or smaller variants alone do not prove reduced resource use.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B", "https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B-Base", "https://huggingface.co/collections/HuggingFaceTB/smollm3" ] } }, "actualImpactMeasured": false } ``` - [Official model card or model release repository](https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [Official model card or model release repository](https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B-Base) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [Official model card or model release repository](https://huggingface.co/collections/HuggingFaceTB/smollm3) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) ## Training data Finding: 5/10 Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/models/smollm3/#training-rights The release provides some training-process information, but not a complete permission ledger for inherited and later training data. Reason: 1 base + 3 source transparency + 1 documented permission + 0 creator controls = 5/10. Weight licensing is not treated as corpus permission. Argument: The card links a public data mixture, pretraining and post-training stages, configs, and intermediate checkpoints. Named sources improve traceability, but public availability and a weight license do not establish permission across the corpus. A public weight license governs use of those weights; it is not proof that every training source was permitted. Type: evidence; confidence: medium Scope (dimension): HuggingFaceTB SmolLM3 3B base and instruction checkpoints. Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded Unknowns: Complete source lists, source-specific rights, inherited-base provenance, synthetic-data generation permissions, and creator removal or retraining remedies remain unestablished. ```json { "method": "training-rights-evidence-v1", "scope": "HuggingFaceTB SmolLM3 3B base and instruction checkpoints.", "components": { "provenance": { "score": 3, "reason": "The card links a public data mixture, pretraining and post-training stages, configs, and intermediate checkpoints. Named sources improve traceability, but public availability and a weight license do not establish permission across the corpus.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B", "https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B-Base", "https://huggingface.co/collections/HuggingFaceTB/smollm3" ] }, "permissions": { "score": 1, "reason": "Some named or permissively licensed material is described, but the sources do not establish permission for the full inherited and later-stage corpus.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B", "https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B-Base", "https://huggingface.co/collections/HuggingFaceTB/smollm3" ] }, "creatorControls": { "score": 0, "reason": "The reviewed model documentation does not establish a corpus-wide creator permission, opt-out, removal, or retraining remedy for this model family.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B", "https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B-Base", "https://huggingface.co/collections/HuggingFaceTB/smollm3" ] } }, "routeDependency": null, "modelReference": null } ``` - [Official model card or model release repository](https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [Official model card or model release repository](https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B-Base) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [Official model card or model release repository](https://huggingface.co/collections/HuggingFaceTB/smollm3) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) ## Your data & privacy Finding: Not enough evidence Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/models/smollm3/#privacy Privacy depends on where these released weights are run; the model family has no single prompt-retention or training route. Reason: Depends on the selected inference host; do not transfer the model license to a hosting provider’s privacy practices. Argument: The official release makes weights available for separate deployments, but it does not define one inference host or retention policy for every user. Local and hosted operators may handle prompts differently, so a single numerical privacy grade would misstate this model-level entry. Type: argument; confidence: high Scope (profile): HuggingFaceTB SmolLM3 3B base and instruction checkpoints. Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded Unknowns: The user-selected host, region, telemetry, logging, extensions, and provider training terms are outside the checkpoint release and require a route-specific review. - [Official model card or model release repository](https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [Official model card or model release repository](https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B-Base) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [Official model card or model release repository](https://huggingface.co/collections/HuggingFaceTB/smollm3) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) ## Openness Finding: 8/10 Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/models/smollm3/#openness Apache 2.0 weights, training configuration, data mixture, and intermediate checkpoints are unusually inspectable at this size. Some later-stage dataset details are still incomplete, and corpus permission remains a separate question. Reason: Apache 2.0 Model weights and documentation are available, but limitations described above reduce source-level reproducibility. Argument: Apache 2.0 weights, training configuration, data mixture, and intermediate checkpoints are unusually inspectable at this size. Some later-stage dataset details are still incomplete, and corpus permission remains a separate question. This openness rating concerns artifacts and reproducibility only; it does not assess whether the original training corpus was authorized. Type: argument; confidence: medium Scope (profile): HuggingFaceTB SmolLM3 3B base and instruction checkpoints. Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded Unknowns: The checked release and license apply to the named checkpoints; sibling variants, future versions, and the underlying corpus may have different terms or disclosures. - [Official model card or model release repository](https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [Official model card or model release repository](https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B-Base) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [Official model card or model release repository](https://huggingface.co/collections/HuggingFaceTB/smollm3) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) ## Worker protections Finding: 1/10 Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/models/smollm3/#labour Hugging Face’s public conduct code covers community participation, not employee or model-workforce conditions. Reason: 1 base + 0 conditions + 0 worker voice/remedy + 0 labor assurance = 1/10. The public community code is outside the worker-protection scope. Argument: Hugging Face’s Contributor Covenant addresses harassment in its online community and provides a reporting route for community misconduct. It does not set employee or contractor pay, working conditions, or supply-chain standards, so it does not earn workforce-protection points for SmolLM3 labor. Type: argument; confidence: low Scope (dimension): Hugging Face as the SmolLM3 developer; public code is scoped to community members, not its workforce. Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded Unknowns: No Hugging Face employee conditions, annotator/evaluator terms, supplier coverage, labor audits, or worker-level grievance outcomes were established in the reviewed official sources. ```json { "method": "worker-safeguards-evidence-v1", "entity": "models/smollm3", "company": "", "scope": "Hugging Face as the SmolLM3 developer; public code is scoped to community members, not its workforce.", "components": { "conditions": { "score": 0, "reason": "The reviewed public code governs community conduct rather than employees’ or contractors’ employment conditions.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://huggingface.co/code-of-conduct" ] }, "voice": { "score": 0, "reason": "Its complaint channel addresses community misconduct; no employee or labor grievance route was established.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://huggingface.co/code-of-conduct" ] }, "assurance": { "score": 0, "reason": "No independent worker-level labor audit or follow-up outcome was established in the reviewed sources.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://huggingface.co/code-of-conduct" ] } }, "disclosureLimited": true } ``` - [Hugging Face Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct](https://huggingface.co/code-of-conduct) (primary; checked not recorded) ## Military ties Finding: 7/10 Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/models/smollm3/#military-contracts No military relationship or release-specific safeguards are established for Hugging Face in the reviewed model sources. Reason: 7 base + 0 safeguard adjustment = 7/10 (0 of 9 safeguard points; every 3 adds 1). No military relationship was established in the cited sources. This ranks above known defense ties without claiming a verified clean record. Argument: The official model card and release materials identify the model and license but do not provide a military customer, contract, deployment, or model-specific enforcement record. This source gap does not establish that none exists. Type: argument; confidence: low Scope (profile): HuggingFaceTB SmolLM3 3B base and instruction checkpoints. Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded Unknowns: Undisclosed contracts, customer-specific deployment, end-use restrictions, and independent compliance outcomes are not established by this model-family review. ```json { "method": "military-ties-priority-v2", "entity": "models/smollm3", "company": "", "scope": "The named developer or operator", "components": { "restrictions": { "score": 0, "reason": "The cited model license and release documents do not establish a model-specific binding ban on military or intelligence use. This is limited to this source set.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B", "https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B-Base", "https://huggingface.co/collections/HuggingFaceTB/smollm3" ] }, "oversight": { "score": 0, "reason": "No military-specific monitoring, enforcement, or remedy mechanism is established in the reviewed model materials.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B", "https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B-Base", "https://huggingface.co/collections/HuggingFaceTB/smollm3" ] }, "transparency": { "score": 0, "reason": "The model materials do not disclose a model-specific military relationship or military-use record. This absence does not establish no relationship.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B", "https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B-Base", "https://huggingface.co/collections/HuggingFaceTB/smollm3" ] } }, "disclosureLimited": true, "relationship": "not-established", "relationshipReason": "The reviewed model-release sources do not establish a defense relationship; absence of disclosure is not a clean-record finding.", "score": 7, "baseScore": 7, "safeguardPoints": 0, "safeguardAdjustment": 0, "rawScore": 7, "cap": null } ``` - [Official model card or model release repository](https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [Official model card or model release repository](https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B-Base) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [Official model card or model release repository](https://huggingface.co/collections/HuggingFaceTB/smollm3) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [Public Policy at Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/hfpolicy) (primary; checked not recorded) ## BDS targets Finding: Not listed Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/models/smollm3/#israel-palestine Hugging Face is not named in the two official BNC campaign lists checked. This is a limited list check, not BDS approval. Reason: Campaign category, excluded from numerical scoring. Argument: The official BNC consumer boycott/pressure guide and No Tech campaign page do not name Hugging Face among their current targets. BDS uses selective campaigns, so absence from these lists is neutral and does not establish a clean record or approval. Type: argument; confidence: medium Scope (profile): HuggingFaceTB SmolLM3 3B base and instruction checkpoints. Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded Unknowns: This check covers only named targets in the two cited BNC campaigns; it does not cover all BDS campaigns, local groups, investments, suppliers, or downstream hosts. Lists and ownership may change. - [BNC official campaign target list](https://bdsmovement.net/Guide-to-BDS-Boycott) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [BNC official campaign target list](https://bdsmovement.net/no-tech-oppression-apartheid-or-genocide) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) ## Reading the evidence - Assessments are provisional editorial judgments. Cite the profile and the underlying sources, and retain confidence, scope and unknowns. - Unknown, not-applicable and model-dependent are different states. Missing evidence does not establish good or bad conduct. - Company-level evidence does not establish use of a particular product or model. Account plan, model, host and route can change an assessment. - Energy scores describe documented practices and transparency, not measured request emissions. Zero component points can mean an evidence gap. - Published overall scores require at least four of six numerical dimensions. Preserve coverage and BDS adjustments; BDS itself is categorical. - No named BDS target found is limited to the reviewed campaign sources and is not approval. Personalized priorities do not change the published overall score. - Review and source-check dates describe the research, not this deployment. Fetch current primary sources when the decision requires current verification. Methodology: https://ethicalstack.ai/methodology/