Open-source software is ubiquitous, supporting artificial intelligence, data science, cloud computing, telecommunications and scientific research tools. Despite these benefits, the number of open-source developers is relatively small, and many projects lack sufficient resources, slowing the pace of innovation and making maintenance difficult. In addition, weaknesses in open-source software, such as security flaws, supply chain risks or insider threats, can spread across many connected systems. In extreme cases, these weaknesses could lead to large-scale failures that affect national or global systems.
Anthony Fu
It’s not a secret that open-source projects are now a critical part of almost every software project. While most open-source projects are maintained by volunteers, the sustainability of these projects becomes a big concern. The recent xz/liblzma vulnerability accident is a great example that shows the importance of open-source projects and how severe the problem could be.
The Missing Middle of Open Source
Why serious, maintainer-driven projects struggle to sustain themselves—and what it will take to fix it.
Open Source Software and Corporate Influence — Andrew Lilley Brinker
Open source software projects are frequently enmeshed with the interests of corporations. We should update mental models of who works on open source accordingly, and build or modify power structures to be more resilient to corporate capture.
AI creates asymmetric pressure on Open Source
How Open Source communities can adapt to AI-generated contributions without overwhelming Open Source maintainers
Open Source is Broken
The Open Source movement, as championed by the OSI, prizes absolute openness above all other concerns...
AI-SLOP: Develop best current practises for Open Source maintainers · Issue #178 · ossf/wg-vulnerability-disclosures
Open source projects are increasingly facing a wave of low-quality, AI-generated vulnerability reports and contributions—commonly referred to as "AI-slop." This issue aims to develop best...
Open Source Endowment — World's First Endowment Fund for OSS
The Open Source Endowment provides truly sustainable funding for critical open source software through a community-driven endowment model.
Doing Data Science on the Shoulders of Giants: The Value of Open Source Software for the Data Science Community
Open source software is ubiquitous throughout data science, and enables the work of nearly every data scientist in some way or another. Open source projects, however, are disproportionately maintained by a small number of individuals, some of whom are institutionally supported, but many of whom do this maintenance on a purely volunteer basis. The health of the data science ecosystem depends on the support of open source projects, on an individual and institutional level.
Open Source infrastructure deserves a business model
Open Source infrastructure is essential, invisible, and chronically underfunded. A more sustainable approach may be to connect the cost of running that infrastructure to the organizations that rely on it most.
From OSS to Open Source AI: an Exploratory Study of Collaborative...
AI development is embracing open-source paradigm, but the fundamental distinction between AI models and traditional software artifacts may lead to a divergent open-source development paradigm with...
Unpacking Open Source Artificial Intelligence: Toward a Framework for Openness in Foundation Models
Openness has long driven innovation in software,9 and AI is no exception.12 While some see openness in foundation models (FMs) as a security threat,18 others argue that restricting access will not meaningfully reduce risk and will limit the benefits of transparency, research, and global participation.3 As the EU AI Act reporting requirements on FMs—also referred to as general-purpose AI models (GPAIMs)—move toward implementation, there is an urgent need for a more nuanced and informed understanding of openness in AI systems.
OpenAI launches new initiative to help find and patch open source bugs | TechCrunch
OpenAI is using AI to help the open source community better protect itself.
How open source projects need to adapt to the AI coding era | We Love Open Source • All Things Open
A new Carnegie Mellon study shows AI coding tools boost velocity by 281% — then leave codebases harder to work with. Here's what open source communities need to do before the sugar rush wears off.
Roadmap: Open Source
After years of investing in open source software, we’re releasing our thinking on what positions these companies as emerging technology giants.
Some startups are going ‘fair source’ to avoid the pitfalls of open source licensing | TechCrunch
New alternative category to 'closed source' could help companies monetize software in the open -- without going all-in on open source.
Working in Public: The Making and Maintenance of Open S…
An inside look at modern open source software developer…
