Gaslighting Openness

This article by Armin Ronacher examines the growing tension between open source ideals and corporate control in the AI era. It argues that companies like Apple and Anthropic use safety and security language to justify restricting user access to devices and AI models, while benefiting from training on public data. The piece supports the EU's Digital Markets Act as a necessary counterbalance, despite its regulatory burdens, to preserve democratized access to technology. It highlights shifting contributor dynamics, AI slop, and the falling cost of code production as stressors on open source, ultimately advocating for keeping technological gates open even if it causes temporary product delays.