2025-10-01 –, Auditorium
The Open Source Initiative has, nearly one year ago, introduced the Open Source AI Definition. While still open to modifications, the definition points out that openness in AI is a matter of both licensing rights and offering enough components so that anyone is able to meaningfully "fork" an AI system or a model for whichever purposes. Unfortunately, already many widely publicized soi-disant "Open Source" AI models and system fall way short on both counts. This is an issue of grave importance, also for the implementation of the EU AI Act -- which grants some lighter touch regulation for Open Source AI.
I am a board member of the OSI and I have been Chair of the Board during the development phase of OSAID. I have been involved in translating the gathered consensus to actual text in the definition, and I have directly experienced a wide gamut of positions on certain nodal points. Whatever the disagreement on OSAID may be, however, no doubt ever existed that certain projects fail to provide the basic freedoms, or they exclude those freedoms from certain uses and scopes, therefore abusing the label "Open Source". I want to make sure that everybody understands that it is not just a matter of a somewhat arbitrary definition, but the definition translates in a minimum threshold beneath which the basic tenets that have made Open Source such a successful software development and distribution model. Those basic tenets are identical for AI, only the technical details and the legal environment are different.
Carlo is a lawyer based in Milan, Italy, practicing IT law, active for almost 25 years in advocacy and activism for digital freedoms. He has been involved in the battles for ensuring competition in networking protocols on behalf of Samba Team and FSFE in one of the largest at the time litigation on antitrust matters before the EU Courts. Regularly advises, also pro bono or partly pro bono, some of the most important Free Software entities and foundations, including Debian, The Document Foundation and the Blender Foundation. Has served as General Counsel for the Free Software Foundation Europe for more than ten years and as Chair of the Board of the Open Source Initiative, of which is Board Member, as well as founding and being editor of the International Free and Open Source Software Law Review. He has joined The Eclipse Foundation as part of the Eclipse Oniro Working Group andCarlo is a lawyer based in Milan, Italy, practicing IT law, active for almost 25 years in advocacy and activism for digital freedoms. He has been involved in the battles for ensuring competition in networking protocols on behalf of Samba Team and FSFE in one of the largest at the time litigation on antitrust matters before the EU Courts. Regularly advises, also pro bono or partly pro bono, some of the most important Free Software entities and foundations, including Debian, The Document Foundation and the Blender Foundation. Has served as General Counsel for the Free Software Foundation Europe for more than ten years and as Chair of the Board of the Open Source Initiative, of which is Board Member, as well as founding and being editor of the International Free and Open Source Software Law Review. He has joined The Eclipse Foundation as part of the Eclipse Oniro Working Group and member of the Steering Committee, and is one of the designers of the OS compliance toolchain developed within the project, is fellow of the Open Forum Academy and member of OpenChain. He was in the first advisory board for creating detail legislation favoring Open Source software over proprietary in Italian public procurement. member of the Steering Committee, and is one of the designers of the OS compliance toolchain developed within the project, is fellow of the Open Forum Academy and member of OpenChain. He was in the first advisory board for creating detail legislation favoring Open Source software over proprietary in Italian public procurement.