What effect are large AI models having on the digital commons and how should we respond? As part of our work to support creators and stewards of content to adapt to the unfolding AI future, we’re sharing some of the writing and ideas that are shaping our thinking.
Distorted Forest Path © by Lone Thomasky & Bits&Bäume is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Here at CC, we have the goal of defending and sustaining the digital commons in the face of developments in artificial intelligence.
We’ve recently introduced a new framework, CC signals, to offer a new way for stewards of large collections of content to indicate their preferences for how machines (and the humans controlling them) should contribute back to the commons.
As we develop our approach, we’re taking inspiration from the work of our partners, community, and other stakeholders. We’re particularly interested in efforts to understand:
How AI scrapers are reshaping the web
Copyright, labor, surveillance, and resistance
The effects of a new economy of data licensing
Emerging ideas for more ethical AI and consensual data governance
We’re reading (a lot!) on these topics, to help ensure that CC signals become part of a diverse set of solutions for protecting the commons in the unfolding AI future. Here’s some of the writing that’s shaping our thinking:
AI Scraping Bots Are Breaking Open Libraries, Archives, and Museums – Emanuel Maiberg, 404 Media https://www.404media.co/ai-scraping-bots-are-breaking-open-libraries-archives-and-museums/
Cloudflare launches a marketplace that lets websites charge AI bots for scraping – Maxwell Zeff, TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/01/cloudflare-launches-a-marketplace-that-lets-websites-charge-ai-bots-for-scraping/
Legal frictions for data openness: Reflections from a case-study on re-use of the open web for AI training – Ramya Chandrasekhar https://hal.science/hal-05009616v1
AI Training, the Licensing Mirage, and Effective Alternatives to Support Creative Workers – Derek Slater, Tech Policy Press https://www.techpolicy.press/ai-training-the-licensing-mirage-and-effective-alternatives-to-support-creative-workers/
“Wait, not like that”: Free and open access in the age of generative AI – Molly White, Citation Needed https://www.citationneeded.news/free-and-open-access-in-the-age-of-generative-ai/
Telling AI to go away (but politely) – Nick Jackson, dxw https://www.dxw.com/2025/04/telling-ai-to-go-away-but-politely/
Can AI Be Consentful? Rethinking Permission in the Age of Synthetic Everything – Giada Pistilli, Hugging Face https://huggingface.co/blog/giadap/consentful-ai
AI Should Help Fund Creative Labor – Mariana Mazzucato, Project Syndicate https://www.project-syndicate.org/onpoint/how-ai-profits-can-help-fund-cultural-production-by-mariana-mazzucato-and-fausto-gernone-2025-07
Licensing, Levies, and the Limits of Copyright – Paul Keller, OpenFuture https://openfuture.eu/blog/licensing-levies-and-the-limits-of-copyright/
We’d love for you to read and learn alongside us, share your thoughts, and contribute other articles and resources to this list! Connect with us on LinkedIn, Bluesky, or Mastodon.
Posted 03 September 2025
Tags