The Value of Open Source
As generative AI joins other social ambient conditions that produce uncertainties, there is an increasingly urgent need for community-based, open-access AI that promotes a culture of openness and transparency. Openness is the core of humanistic value. Commercial culture tends to simplify and sloganize techno-solutionism, while open intellectual culture of inquiry encourages nuanced deliberation.
An individual is only free insomuch as one is empowered to have sustainable and equitable access to resources to liberate their mind. Open educational resources (OER) democratizes access to knowledge.
GW’s Open Source Program Office (OSPO) and Digital Humanities Institute has supported the development of open-source AI and open-access online textbooks, such as Professor Joubin’s Introduction to Critical Theory and Screening Shakespeare which is listed in the OSPO repository to inspire others to create similar resources.
GW will hold its Second Annual Open Source Conference from March 23-24, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Register here to attend for free.
These OERs are certified by Quality Matters and Gold open access. They are featured by the OER Commons.
Both web-based textbooks are media-rich and interactive. Both feature custom-trained, resident Socratic AI to ask users critical questions.
