Latest Publications on Industry and Research
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Open source and digital sovereignty
Digital sovereignty is on everyone’s mind these days, and open source is seen as a critical enabler. But how, and at what costs? First off, it is not just about open source code. Next to code, you also need to consider your data and where it resides. The code and the data dimension then create…
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Europe’s AI opportunity: Unbiased foundation models
This MIT Technology Review article on “open source AI” argues that Chinese companies, with governmental backing, are embracing an open source approach to AI. They don’t, it is typically only open models that are being provided, not full-blown open source AIs. However, the story is appealing. Still the underdog when compared with the US, China…
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Open source governance practices: A path to improving sustainability (Dawn Foster, IEEE Computer)
I’m happy to report that the 41th article in the open source column of IEEE Computer has been published. As always, please consider writing an article proposal! Abstract This article provides advice and resources for improving open source project sustainability through good governance practices. Keywords Open Source, Decision Making Process, Good Governance, Governance Model, Article…
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Quote on digital sovereignty for German Open Source Competition 2026
I recently participated in the opening panel (online discussion) of the German Open Source Wettbewerb (competition) for 2026. This participation had already triggered my earlier posts on open source and digital sovereignty and, less directly, on a European open source AI strategy. Now the organizers asked for a short quote to use for further marketing.…
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Beware of an AI’s authoritative voice
Nothing drives home the silliness of this early (LLM) AI frenzy better than a personal experience. Here is mine. Over twenty years ago, when I was a student at Stanford and rather poor (think six digit student loan), I was trying to make a cheese fondue for my friends. Problem was that the original ingredients…
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Is commercial open source the right choice for your startup?
I’ll be on a panel at the UC Open Summit 2026 in a few hours. The moderator carved out for me the question: When should you make a COSS play? (She really liked that phrasing.) Here is my panel-size soundbite: The term “commercial open source” was coined as a marketing term by Clint Oram of…
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I’m amused, legally amused
tl;dr How to make a mess of your business model by fudging your licenses You may have followed the ONLYOFFICE vs. Euro-Office kerfuffle about commercial open source licensing. Ascensio Systems SIA, the company behind ONLYOFFICE, a Microsoft Office like office suite, makes its money by selling commercial licenses to ONLYOFFICE. Like many so-called commercial open…