# Open Source and AI: The Future of Knowledge Sharing The enclosure of AI in closed systems threatens scientific progress. - **Source:** [Fortune | FORTUNE](https://brifing.si/source/769282ef-327a-4454-909a-3c7936216004) - **Published:** 2026-07-03 - **Topic:** [Data & AI](https://brifing.si/c/data-ai) - **Original article:** - **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/64f8486f-f68f-4412-9ca6-8a5be7ec00f0 ## The Birth of Open Source In the 1980s, Richard Stallman argued that software should be freely usable, learnable, and improvable by everyone. Working next to his office at MIT AI Lab, he claimed software was a body of knowledge that shouldn't be locked away. I initially held conventional views but eventually realized he was right. ## The Success of Open Source Stallman's projects like GCC became among the world's most important software tools thanks to contributions from thousands of developers. The GNU/Linux operating system now powers much of the internet. Open development principles became foundational to technological progress. ## Security Through Transparency Proprietary software advocates claimed source code needed to be secret for security. But transparency allowed a global community of developers to find and fix issues. Open source won this debate decisively, leading to more secure systems. ## The Importance of Shared Knowledge Open source served as a textbook for engineers. Closed systems teach almost nothing. If state-of-the-art systems remain hidden, how can we train future innovators? Shared knowledge is the foundation of technological advancement. ## AI's Enclosure Today's most advanced AI models are completely closed. Locking away this knowledge while the science is still young poses significant risks. Future scientific breakthroughs could become trapped within a few companies. ## The Library of the Future AI is becoming the library of the future. But a closed system means access only to information the owner permits. This represents the concentration of humanity's knowledge heritage under corporate control. ## Unauditable Decisions Closed AI models don't explain their decisions. When doctors' diagnoses, judges' rulings, or ordinary beliefs rely on these systems, understanding outcomes becomes impossible. We're trusting oracles we cannot examine. ## The Future of Open Source AI's dangers must be taken seriously, but locking away knowledge isn't the solution. Open source accelerated technological progress in the past. We must uphold these same principles for AI today. ## Sources covering this story - https://fortune.com/2026/07/03/open-source-ai-same-fight-as-software-fight-1980s-david-siegel-two-sigma/ — --- _Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._