hello@openfuture.eu
In 2021, when we launched Open Future, we formulated an initial hypothesis, the Paradox of Open. At the core of this paradox is the observation that openness functions both as a powerful challenge and as an enabler of concentrations of power. Over the last four years our work has produced further evidence that openness alone does not guarantee equitable access, durability, or public benefit, and that openness can easily be captured by dominant intermediaries who gain even more power. One result is that the digital space is increasingly dependent on private infrastructure, which limits the potential for public and commons-based online spaces. This insight leads us to a simple proposition: digital policy needs to address both the governance and infrastructure layers of the technologies it seeks to regulate and empower.
We aim for a European Digital Public Space: a connected environment where people, institutions, and creators can access, use, exchange and build upon knowledge and culture on fair terms. This is not a single platform. It is a system of interoperable services, shared resources, and rules that advance digital rights and Europe’s digital sovereignty.
Our work to realize this vision involves analyzing and intervening across two interconnected layers:
These approaches mutually enable each other. Public digital infrastructure lowers the cost of collaboration and reduces dependency on private choke points. Commons-based governance legitimates and steers infrastructure toward public goals. We treat both layers as gradients, not binaries: infrastructure can be more or less public; governance can be more or less commons-based. In practice, we prioritize interventions that shift systems toward public value.
In addition, sustainability and interoperability are important concerns that we apply to the infrastructure layer. Sustainability means systems can be funded, stewarded, and maintained over time, with clear responsibility and attention to environmental limits. Interoperability means systems should be built on open standards, APIs, and data formats that prevent lock-in.
Most of our activities operate across both layers. We design governance models for shared resources, and we advocate and prototype infrastructure that institutions can trust and sustain. Our work on public digital infrastructure is not only concerned with investments in infrastructure but also explores the role of the commons as a governance framework. In the area of copyright policy we are prototyping registries that can enable finding balance between access and control in the face of rapidly evolving technology. Our work on Public AI combines concerns about funding for public-interest compute with questions about commons-based dataset governance and the public value of AI.
Importantly, this is a working approach. We refine it as we encounter new developments, partners, and evidence. If your work intersects with these concerns, we are open to exploring how this perspective can help. Do not hesitate to get in touch.
