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‘Open source’ AI isn’t truly open — here’s how researchers can reclaim the term

Many firms are misusing the ‘open source’ label. The scientific community, which relies on transparency and replicability, must resist this trend.
By
  1. Stefano Maffulli

    1. Stefano Maffulli is the executive director of the Open Source Initiative in Palo Alto, California.

Some 50 years ago this month, the Homebrew Computer Club — a do-it-yourself group of computer enthusiasts and hobbyists — began meeting in Menlo Park, California, fostering a culture of collaboration, knowledge exchange and the open sharing of software. These values, which helped to shape the open-source movement, are now being subverted by some artificial intelligence (AI) companies.

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Nature 640, 9 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-00930-6

Disclaimer: Large language models were used in the research and outlining phases of this article’s development.

Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

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