Open Source AI + Policy Happy Hour

Open Source + AI Policy Happy Hour

Open source AI is in the spotlight, drawing growing attention from policymakers, researchers, industry, and civil society. Building on the momentum of Open Source AI Week, this event will bring together perspectives from across the community to think big picture about how we can advance an AI ecosystem that is open, secure, competitive, and innovative.

Through two conversations, we’ll explore the policies and shared foundations shaping the future of open source AI, and where cross-sector collaboration can help move the ecosystem forward.

The Global Policy Landscape for Open Source AI

How can policymakers address emerging risks while preserving the ability to develop, release, study, and build on open AI systems?

Featuring policy, research, open source, and industry perspectives from experts on the U.S., Europe, and China, this conversation will explore how governments are approaching open models and open weights, where approaches are converging or diverging, and what those choices mean for security, competition, innovation, and open development.

• Mitchell Baker, Co-founder Mozilla, Expert Fellow at the AI & Society Institute at École Normale Supérieure (Paris), founder of Remix Studies
• Kevin Xu, writes the Interconnected newsletter and was formerly GitHub's senior director of global expansion strategy
• Moderated by Mike Linksvayer, VP of Developer Policy at GitHub

The Open Foundations of AI: Research, Access, and Collective Action

What policies, resources, and partnerships are needed to broaden participation in AI research and innovation?

Featuring leaders across research, open science, industry, and public-interest organizations, this conversation will explore how access to research, data, compute, software, and technical infrastructure can broaden participation, support new ideas and entrants, and strengthen the foundations of AI innovation.

• Evan Engstrom, Head of Public Policy at Runway
• Stephanie Lieggi, Executive Director of the Center for Research in Open Source Software (CROSS) at UC Santa Cruz
• Dario Taraborelli, founder and director of the Open Source for Science Fund, a Renaissance Philanthropy fund that pools philanthropic, public, and industry capital to sustain and evolve the open source software stack underpinning science
• Moderated by Dr. Tom Zick, an AI researcher and attorney, currently serving as President of Trillium Labs, a nonprofit dedicated to building out the open research ecosystem for frontier AI

Wednesday, October 21
GitHub HQ
Check-in begins at 5:30 PM
Program: 6:00–9:00 PM

Space is limited. Registration is required, and attendance is subject to approval.