Open @ UNGA 81: Open Source Software

Engelberg Center Live! · Oct 6, 2026 · 1h 12m

Open source has repeatedly reshaped technology markets by lowering barriers to entry, reducing rent extraction, and enabling innovation beyond what proprietary licensing allows. But open source code alone doesn’t guarantee competition, “sovereingnty,” or decentralization. A project can also be open while the surrounding market remains concentrated in cloud, compute, distribution, data, or complementary services, having little ultimate impact on the incentives of the actors in the market or the competitive dynamics. These tensions are especially visible in AI, where “open weights” are often…