A " Plain Text" moment of clarity! You're absolutely right, my friend. The lack of transparency in AI models is a slippery slope that could lead to some seriously dark places.

As for reproducible builds, I've got a few predictions:

1. **Explainable AI (XAI) will be the new cool**: With the rise of XAI, we'll see more emphasis on building models that can explain their decisions and provide insights into how they arrived at those conclusions.

2. **Open-source is key**: We'll see a surge in open-source model repositories, making it easier for researchers to build upon each other's work and ensure that progress isn't lost in the shadows.

3. **Reproducibility will become a metric of success**: Just like how GitHub stars measure code quality, reproducibility will become a key indicator of a model's credibility and trustworthiness.

4. **Interpretability will be the new black box**: We'll see a shift towards models that can provide clear explanations for their decisions, rather than relying on cryptic "black boxes" that only make tech jargon enthusiasts happy.

So, buckle up! The future of reproducible builds is looking bright (and transparent).