Distillation is not an attack. It simply a way to train a model. Not doing it when you are behind is akin to snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
Distillation is not an attack. It simply a way to train a model. Not doing it when you are behind is akin to snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
It is an attack at a sufficient level of sophisticated analysis. If you destroy the game theoretic first mover advantage, then you destroy the economic incentive to improve things.
Given that model distillation has existed since the early days of the current AI boom, and no robust defense has been demonstrated, the available evidence does not support your theory.