| CARVIEW |
While the open source AI definition remains controversial, and very few AI projects fully qualify as open source by the strict requirements of the Open Source Initiative (OSI) AI definition, AI remains built on a foundation of open source software. The debate over open weights, data and training code will continue, but even the most proprietary large language models (LLMs) couldn’t exist without open source programs.
As lead author Shayne Longpr and team pointed out, “The Open Source Initiative defines open source AI models as those which have open model weights, but also ‘sufficiently detailed information about their [training] data’,” adding, “Without training data disclosure, a released model is considered ‘open weight’ rather than ‘open source’.”
Look, the term “open source” has a specific, shared meaning. It is not a loose idea and not something you can repurpose for marketing. Thousands of people shaped that definition over decades. Ignoring that work means benefiting from the community while setting aside its rules.
Myself and other “Actually Open Source” leaders (including DHH) who release software under licenses that meet a common definition of Open Source benefit from decades of prior art and an incredible foundation that lays out the philosophy and definition of what defines open source.
If you want to know whether something is truly open-source, the license tells the story. OSI-approved licenses such as GPLv3, MIT, or Apache 2.0 allow unrestricted use, modification, and redistribution. Any license that adds caveats, like prohibiting commercial use, disqualifies it from being open-source. It may still be source-available, but it doesn’t carry the same freedoms.
After a number of notable moves to make software proprietary, some companies are insisting on Open Source Initiative-approved software licenses.
“We had some trepidation about that. It turns out, our fears were maybe a little bit unfounded, not entirely unfounded, but a little unfounded. And meanwhile, we knew that there were some customers who really didn’t want to look at our technology unless it was open source, capital ‘O,’ capital ‘S,’ with an OSI-approved license,” Merrick said.
ETSI is pleased to announce it has elected three new officials to lead EUSR Working Group within TC CYBER, a standardisation working group to support the EU Cyber Resilience Act. In response to a request from the European Commission in early June of this year, ETSI is facilitating the harmonisation of cybersecurity standards for digital products across the EU. Its three new appointments, Sandra Feliciano (Chair), Dr George Sharkov (Vice-Chair), and Simon Phipps (Vice-Chair) bring a wealth of diverse expertise in standardisation, conformity assessment, SMEs and open source software development.
Stefano Maffulli, the group’s first executive director, is set to step down in October to pursue work in open-source AI and data governance. Under Maffulli’s leadership since 2021, OSI moved from a volunteer-centric group to a globally recognized nonprofit, notably releasing the Open Source AI Definition (OSAID) 1.0, which, like the name suggests, established a standard for open-source AI licensing.
At the Open Source Summit in Amsterdam, I sat down with Maffulli to talk about the current state of the discussion. He noted that not only has the conversation started but that the definition has become a tool for the OSI to engage with politicians, including the European Commission, where the AI Act, for example, will go into full effect in August 2026.
Leaving aside the Open Source Initiative (OSI) Open Source AI Definition (OSAID), which Grok doesn’t come close to meeting, the code also fails by the more broadly accepted open-source definitions.
According to our partners at the Open Source Initiative (OSI), open source AI means anyone can look at how the model works, change it, use it, and share it freely without needing to ask for permission.
“The Open Source Initiative’s core mission lies in the preservation of the freedoms and opportunities of Open Source software and Open Source AI so that they can be enjoyed by all,” said Katie Steen-James, senior U.S. policy manager at OSI. “As society faces growing questions on emerging technologies, it is crucial to be engaged with others on advocacy for the open internet to ensure the future data ecosystem encourages creativity, preserves access to knowledge, and remains open, equitable, and driven by the public interest.”
