Commons AI

Commons AI is an initiative led by inno³ to bring together those building an artificial intelligence that respects the resources it draws on, the communities it involves and the people who use it. The topic sits at the heart of our work on open models and the digital commons : we contribute our legal expertise, our experience in data governance and our commitment to an open and sovereign digital landscape.

Faced with the concentration of power, the threats to personal data and the homogenisation of knowledge amplified by generative AI, Commons AI pursues a clear goal : to map, connect and consolidate the initiatives that develop AI through a commons-based approach. The aim is to make existing initiatives visible, to identify the obstacles and to surface avenues for collective action.

Our approach

The approach relies on a shared reading grid, that of the three pillars of a common : resources (data, models, infrastructures), communities (contributions, organisation, economic balances) and governance (regulatory and community-based mechanisms). Each edition brings together deliberately diverse profiles, businesses, researchers, NGOs and the public sector, in order to cross perspectives and move beyond siloed approaches.

The organisation relies on a scientific committee set up to ensure the quality and balance of the content, coordinated by Célya Gruson-Daniel. True to our scientific and open approach, we publish all the proceedings in open access (summaries, audio recordings and presentations), so that everyone can build on them and continue the conversation.

Editions

2025 edition. The inaugural conference took place on 10 December 2025 at the CNIT in La Défense, as part of the Future of Software Technologies (FOST) event. The first gathering entirely dedicated to a community-based and commons approach to AI, it brought together fifteen talks across the three pillars. The resources of this edition are available online : the program and speakers, the summaries of the three sessions (resources, governance, communities), as well as the recordings and presentations gathered in an open repository.

2026 edition. inno³ is preparing the next edition of Commons AI. The program, partners and registration details will be presented on its dedicated page.

Conceived as a recurring event, the initiative aims to consolidate scattered efforts around an open, frugal and empowering AI that serves the public interest.