Is an AI Model Technically Defined as Software?

This is a rewrite / update of the article I first published here on dev.to back in January. Whether an AI model is classified as software or data can affect everything from export controls to copyright claims to product liability. Courts and regulators are going to have to make calls on this at some point. So - I wanted to try and cover the technical perspective as accurately as possible while not getting trapped in semantics - ie - language or definition. April 2026 AI is so intertwined with...