Bias in AI is one example. A lot of the major AI systems are free software / open source. And maybe this is because the authors want transparency and to include everyone in thinking about how AI should be used. Or maybe some authors just want their system to become a standard or just attract more developers, but whatever the motivations, we today have world-class AI systems that can be re-used, studied, and modified by everyone. Bias in AI is a very tricky problem, and releasing the code doesn't mean it's going to be easy to solve, but at least it means we can study it to see if something's going wrong, and we can change the software if that's what's required.
Encryption is similar. Pretty much everyone in Europe uses encryption every day. For connecting to the internet, sending messages, or video chat. Without source code, encryption is usually a black box and users have to trust the authors on security issues. With source code, anyone can audit or publish their own version. Users can have more confidence in the software because if a bad feature were to be added, or anything that would reduce security, anyone can make a forked version without the bad parts, and the original authors risk losing their userbase.
Another issue is language inclusion. The Galician Region published in September their “Guía de boas prácticas para liberación de contidos e software” (Guide to Good Practices for Content and Software Release). Importantly, the guide is published in Galician, a language which has equal status in the region alongside Spanish. This initiative is the latest in a number of digital projects which have been launched to respond to a lack of resources in Galician.
For public administrations trying to use more free software / open source, some will be interested in metrics for measuring success. This is a new evolution in public administrations. While experts were previously sought to examine legal and compliance issues, there is now also a focus on strategy and reviewing where collaboration could be better.
Our final topic for this month is a look at different ways to measure free software / open source contributions for global and European regions. As more governments get involved, some will be interested to know where development is taking place.
We hope you enjoy reading more about these topics, as well as the events we've highlighted below and the return of Solutions of the Month.
If you'd like to meet the OSOR team, join us in room 224/225 at the Paris Open Source Experience on 9 November at 1:30 pm! Monika Sowinska and Axel Thévenet will be there for OSOR together with members of the European Commission's Open Source Programme Office.
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