Open Future Foundation

Open Future welcomes this initiative and the Commission's recognition that AI is reshaping how Europeans reach culture and knowledge. Open Future is a think tank working on public-interest AI and the digital commons. We contributed to the Europeana Initiative's Public AI white paper and support both it and Europeana's response to this Call for Evidence.

Open Future welcomes the opportunity to contribute to this call for evidence, and welcomes the focus of the proposed strategy on open source software and technologies as a way to bolster digital sovereignty. A thriving open source ecosystem is the best path towards building not (just) European alternatives, but an ecosystem that supports alternative ways of developing technology that serves the needs of society.

Feedback on the AI Act The proposal for a Regulation laying down harmonised rules on Artificial Intelligence (AI Act) is a welcomed effort in the development of specific requirements for “high-risk” systems, prohibited AI practices, and new rules on market monitoring bodies.

Opening of the attached position paper · the full paper is on the Commission’s record (source link above)

This submission responds only to the first of the four areas of intervention identified in the call for evidence: the challenges faced by creators linked to artificial intelligence. As a member of COMMUNIA, Open Future supports the positions set out in COMMUNIA's submission on the other areas addressed by the initiative: in particular, access to and reuse of publicly funded research and Public Domain materials…

Overall, the Data Act is a welcome proposal as it broadens access rights to machine-generated data while providing structural conditions for greater sharing and reuse of data. Likewise, it introduces new interoperability provisions to secure a fairer allocation of machine-generated data between users and data holders.

The Data Act is an important addition to the Data Governance Act (DGA), that further completes the European Data Strategy. While the DGA provides the framework for data sharing to take place in the first place, the Data Act seems to be designed to provide the economic conditions to foster the emergence of sectoral data spaces.

Open Future appreciates the opportunity to provide feedback on the European Commission's White Paper "How to master Europe's digital infrastructure needs?". We welcome the fact that the Commission is actively exploring Europe's digital infrastructure needs and we agree with the overall assessment that further investment in digital infrastructure must be prioritized in the second half of Europe's 'digital decade'.

In our submission, we focus on discussing the proposal from a perspective that acknowledges the fundamental role played by Open Access Commons-based data sharing in the overall data ecosystems. Please find the full submission in the attached document.

Open Future Foundation welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the review of the Digital Decade policy programme. The review of the Digital Decade Programme represents a crucial opportunity to orient its approach and targets in line with strategic priorities.

We welcome the proposed Roadmap for the Digital Compass Policy Program. We agree that coordination between different actors, and between the European Union and its Member States, is key to the success of the European Digital Decade. Having said that, we believe that a stronger presence of the civil society and the non-profit sector is needed for the program to succeed.