Publications
European Public AI Policy Brief
AI is becoming core European infrastructure. Yet non-European firms increasingly control it, concentrating investment, data, and talent. This creates risks for strategic autonomy, democratic decision-making, and the European social model. This brief proposes Public AI as an alternative.
Divergent Mechanisms Elusive Vocabularies
This policy brief examines how AI opt-out vocabularies evolved in 2025 and proposes design principles for a shared semantic layer that balances control with user rights.
Impulse paper: Publishing cultural heritage data in the age of AI
This paper proposes a framework to help cultural heritage institutions decide when and how to share collection data for AI training, balancing open access with managing large-scale AI reuse aligned with their public mandate.
Outline for a European Books Data Commons
This proposal outlines a European Books Data Commons—library-governed infrastructure providing centralized access to digitized books for AI training while strengthening digital sovereignty.
A Strategic Agenda for Digital Commons
This Strategic Agenda provides a roadmap for EU institutions and member states on designing, funding, and sustaining digital infrastructure, with Digital Commons as a foundation for digital sovereignty.
From Public Investment to Public Value
Our new policy brief outlines five specific policy interventions that leverage the 2028–2034 MFF to advance Europe's digital sovereignty.
How data center expansion risks derailing climate goals and what to do about it
This report advocates for addressing the structural drivers behind unchecked digital expansion and ensuring that data center investments align with the public interest and climate objectives.
Beyond AI and copyright
This White Paper calls for a levy on commercial AI systems to fund public infrastructures and ensure a sustainable Digital Knowledge Commons in the generative AI era.
CommonsDB Feasibility Study: Building the Future of Digital Commons
This study outlines how CommonsDB is creating a registry of Public Domain and openly licensed works to improve legal certainty when reusing digital content.
Open Future Annual Report 2024
Open Future's Annual Report 2024 covers our fourth full year of operations and details the evolution of our organizational strategy.
White Paper on Public AI
Today's AI landscape is dominated by a few tech companies. This White Paper presents an alternative: Public AI systems built on transparency, democratic governance, and open access to critical infrastructure.
