Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
For decades, the open movement championed sharing as the path to knowledge equity—billions of works freely accessible and reusable across research, education, and culture. But AI weaponizes that openness: what was built to democratize knowledge now trains models that concentrate power and profit. Open data scraping. Closed model development. Free content fueling extraction. As we mark Creative Commons' 25th anniversary, we confront an impossible question: how do we keep knowledge open without enabling its exploitation?
About SXSW:
SXSW dedicates itself to helping creative people achieve their goals. Founded in 1987 in Austin, Texas, SXSW is best known for its conference and festivals that celebrate the convergence of the interactive, film, and music industries. An essential destination for global professionals, SXSW features sessions, showcases, screenings, exhibitions, professional development and a variety of networking opportunities. For more information, please visit sxsw.com.
Connect with SXSW:
Website: sxsw.com
Instagram: instagram.com/sxsw
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/sxsw
TikTok: tiktok.com/@sxsw
Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/sxsw.com
Threads: threads.com/@sxsw
For decades, the open movement championed sharing as the path to knowledge equity—billions of works freely accessible and reusable across research, education, and culture. But AI weaponizes that openness: what was built to democratize knowledge now trains models that concentrate power and profit. Open data scraping. Closed model development. Free content fueling extraction. As we mark Creative Commons' 25th anniversary, we confront an impossible question: how do we keep knowledge open without enabling its exploitation?
About SXSW:
SXSW dedicates itself to helping creative people achieve their goals. Founded in 1987 in Austin, Texas, SXSW is best known for its conference and festivals that celebrate the convergence of the interactive, film, and music industries. An essential destination for global professionals, SXSW features sessions, showcases, screenings, exhibitions, professional development and a variety of networking opportunities. For more information, please visit sxsw.com.
Connect with SXSW:
Website: sxsw.com
Instagram: instagram.com/sxsw
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/sxsw
TikTok: tiktok.com/@sxsw
Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/sxsw.com
Threads: threads.com/@sxsw
