Responsible and Strategic Open Source AI Innovation in Europe and Beyond

Titelangaben

Kijewski, Sara ; McBride, Claire ; Ronchi, Elettra ; Ferretti, Agata ; Vayena, Effy:
Responsible and Strategic Open Source AI Innovation in Europe and Beyond.
Zurich, Switzerland , 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-c-000787142

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Abstract

On June 5, ETH Zurich’s AI Ethics and Policy Network and the AI Alliance hosted a “Roundtable on Open Source AI”. The event brought together more than 30 key stakeholders from the open source community, academia, industry and government to discuss the unique opportunities and challenges presented by open source AI. The event was held under Chatham House Rule; therefore, this report reflects key insights from the event’s discussions without attribution to individual participants. The Roundtable was both geographically and thematically grounded in Europe, taking place against the backdrop of the EU’s landmark AI Act, shifting global geopolitical dynamics, and a growing emphasis on promoting interoperability and European ecosystem building to strengthen regional autonomy and reduce dependence on foreign digital technologies and infrastructure. The central focus of the Roundtable was the strategic role open source AI could play for European developers, businesses, and public institutions. Guided by a set of core questions, participants discussed the impact of open source AI on innovation and competition, asking whether open models can meaningfully rival proprietary systems backed by vast resources and where they might hold distinct advantages. They also examined how open source AI could influence the governance of the broader AI ecosystem, including its potential to support more ethical, inclusive, and sustainable AI development. Finally, participants examined the key drivers, barriers, and trade-offs involved in advancing open source AI in Europe, considering how best to navigate tensions between transparency and safety, openness and accountability, collaboration and control. The Roundtable identified four priority areas for promoting responsible, strategic open source AI innovation: (a) establishing a foundational shared understanding of open source AI, (b) building a supportive ecosystem backbone, (c) driving informed regulation and agile governance, and (d) capitalizing on Europe’s strategic strengths. These insights are examined in detail in the following sections alongside recommended actions. Taken together, they underscore that sustained, cross-sector collaborative efforts will be essential if Europe is to contribute to shaping the global AI landscape, realize the benefits open source AI offers, and ensure appropriate safeguards are in place. While the actions described in this report are tailored toward the European context, they hold broader relevance, providing stakeholders in other settings with key insights and recommended actions that can be adapted to advance their own goals for fostering responsible, strategic, and sustainable open source AI.