Writing
Thinking out loud on the questions ahead.
Essays, reports and conversations with our partners on AI, openness, creativity and the policy questions ahead.
TechPolicy.Press Supporting Openness & Safety: Lessons From Recent State LawsHow two California laws kept their safety goals while fitting how open-source software is actually built. By Derek Slater. Read → Aug 2026
Power User Podcast Is AI Burning the Library of Alexandria?A conversation with Taylor Lorenz on whether AI is destroying human literature. With Derek Slater. Watch → Jul 2026
a16z Policy AI’s Data Access QuestionA conversation with Matt Perault on the freedom to learn, how AI is testing the web’s balance between openness and control, and what it means for startups. With Derek Slater. Listen → Jun 2026
The Center Edge Is the Open Web on Life Support?How AI search is draining traffic from the sites that fund creators and publishers, and what should replace the old bargain with search engines. With Derek Slater. Listen → Oct 2025
Lawfare Worried About AI Monopoly? Embrace Copyright’s LimitsWhy copyright’s built-in limits keep AI markets competitive, and why weakening them would entrench the biggest players. By Michael Carrier and Derek Slater. Read → Oct 2025
TechPolicy.Press We Need a New Kind of Research for the AI GenerationWhy policy on chatbots and young people needs real-world evidence, and who should fund it. By Betsy Masiello. Read → Aug 2025
Lawfare What History Can Teach Us About Copyright, AI, and ‘Market Floods’What past media technologies show about fears of AI flooding creative markets. By Derek Slater and Aram Sinnreich. Read → Jun 2025
TechPolicy.Press AI Training, the Licensing Mirage, and Effective Alternatives to Support Creative WorkersWhy licensing training data won't protect artists, and what would. By Derek Slater. Read → Apr 2024
Open Future Towards a Books Data Commons for AI TrainingA white paper on building a shared, responsibly governed books dataset for AI training. With Open Future and Creative Commons. Read → Oct 2023
TechPolicy.Press Missing AI Leadership on Labor PolicyWhy AI companies should engage early on labor and economic policy, before the backlash arrives. By Betsy Masiello. Read → Sep 2023
TechPolicy.Press Beyond Copyright: Tailoring Responses to Generative AI & The Future of CreativityConcerns about generative AI and creativity, and the tools beyond copyright that can address them. By Derek Slater and Betsy Masiello. Read → Jun 2023
TechPolicy.Press Will Open Source AI Shift Power from ‘Big Tech’? It Depends.What open source AI can and can't do for competition. By Derek Slater and Betsy Masiello. Read → Jun 2023
Atlantic Council Building Open Trust and Safety ToolsAn annex to the Atlantic Council’s Scaling Trust report on open tools for trust and safety work. Read → Apr 2023
TechPolicy.Press Generative AI and Copyright Policy From the Creator-User’s PerspectiveWhy AI copyright debates need to account for the many creators who use these tools. By Derek Slater. Read →