A coalition of open-source AI stakeholders is urging EU policymakers to protect open source innovation as they finalize the EU AI Act. The coalition, including Hugging Face, GitHub, EleutherAI, Creative Commons, LAION, and Open Future, released a policy paper with recommendations to ensure that the AI Act supports open AI development practices. The paper highlights the threat of “overbroad obligations” that favor closed and proprietary AI development and calls for regulations that do not hinder open-source AI innovation. The EU AI Act focuses on analyzing and classifying AI systems based on the risk they pose. The coalition emphasizes the importance of openness and transparency in responsible governance and cautions against imposing expectations on open-source developers. The discussion around the AI Act in the trilogue stage presents an opportunity to provide clear information about the open-source approach to development. The coalition is optimistic that the EU’s influence in setting tech regulations, known as the “Brussels Effect,” can have a global impact and hopes that open-source developers will have a seat at the policymaking table.
| Signal | Change | 10y horizon | Driving force |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open-source AI stakeholders call for EU AI Act support | Protection of open source innovation in AI Act | Increased support for open-source AI development | Desire for open AI development practices to not be hindered |
| Overbroad obligations threaten open AI ecosystem | Avoidance of obligations favoring closed and proprietary AI models | Greater balance between closed and open AI development practices | Preservation of the open AI ecosystem |
| Emphasis on innovation and open-source AI | Recognition of the importance of open-source AI | Greater freedom to choose and mix AI models and components | Freedom to choose and mix AI models and components |
| EU AI Act focuses on application risk | Regulation based on the risk level of AI systems | Mitigation of risks at earlier stages of AI development | Mitigation of risks placed on open source developers |
| Clear information on open-source development | Increased understanding and support for open-source approach | Benefits for global regulatory conversation and policymaking | Influence on global regulatory conversation and policymaking |
| EU as a trendsetter in tech regulation | Potential influence on tech regulation worldwide | Adoption of similar approaches to tech regulation | Influence on global tech regulation and policymaking trends |
| Open-source developers given a seat at the policymaking table | Inclusion of open-source developers in AI policymaking | Diverse input in AI policymaking process | Inclusion of diverse perspectives in AI policymaking |