Apereo Endorses OSI’s Response to U.S. AI Action Plan

The Apereo Foundation has joined the Open Source Initiative (OSI), in commenting on the U.S. government's Artificial Intelligence Action Plan. OSI's recommendations emphasize the importance of Open Source AI in driving innovation, stating, “[W]e recommend that the AI Action Plan encourage the development and use of Open Source AI models in both the public and private sectors to speed discovery and application of AI in ways that benefit public wellbeing.” Additionally, OSI calls on the U.S. government to collaborate in defining Open Source AI, ensuring clarity and fostering innovation.

As a nonprofit advancing open source in education technology and an Affiliate Member of the OSI, Apereo strongly supports the recommendations submitted. Open Source AI aligns with Apereo’s mission to promote transparency, collaboration, and equitable access to technology in education. Open models empower institutions to innovate while maintaining control over their data and pedagogical approaches, ensuring that AI serves learners, educators, and researchers in ethical and meaningful ways. Furthermore, Open Source AI enhances research by ensuring reproducibility, enabling scholars to verify and build upon previous work without hidden constraints. It also maximizes the impact of publicly funded research by allowing the re-use and adaptation of software already supported by federal grants, fostering innovation while avoiding redundant costs. By endorsing OSI’s call for a clear definition of Open Source AI, Apereo advocates for a future where AI development remains open, inclusive, and beneficial to the global education community.

"Artificial intelligence has the potential to transform research and education, but to fully realize its benefits, it must align with the core principles of science—transparency, peer review, and knowledge sharing. Open Source AI–as the OSI has defined it–ensures that research is reproducible, algorithms are testable, and innovation is not locked behind proprietary barriers. Closed AI models, with hidden data and ambiguous algorithms, undermine the very ethos of scientific discovery. By working together as an open source community, we can build AI that advances knowledge, fosters collaboration, and serves the public good. Apereo is committed to this vision and stands with OSI in advocating for a clear, open, and inclusive future for AI."

— Patrick Masson, Executive Director, Apereo Foundation

Full OSI and Apereo response: 

The public is invited to submit comments on the AI Action Plan here: White House Public Comment Invitation.