Today, the Open Source Initiative has released its first official definition of Open Source AI. This is an important milestone. Let me explain why.

Why Open Source matters

In a world where speech depends on software, free speech depends on free software.

The key tenet of open source is is that it puts the user in control. Software is ever growing in complexity and importance in our society. Software is how we do our work, how we communicate, how we pay, how we access information. When software is a black box, subject to subtle (or not so much) manipulation, users are at risk.

Risks of AI

AI brings these risks to an entirely new level. Not only because it makes decisions that are often entirely intransparent, but also because its easy, human like interface often lulls users to trust it far more than deserved.

The big AI firms have done their level best to ensure the attention of the public around risks with AI were aimed at existential, contrived notions akin to Skynet, the AI in the movie series Terminator, scenarios where AI would take over the world. In reality, the risks associated with AI are far more mundane. Surveillance, bias, explosive energy usage and job losses are the concerns we should focus on.

Need for control

And, just like with software, what matters is control. Who controls the AI, who makes decisions about what it can and can’t do, what goes in and what does not. With control, we can address the real risks of AI. Without control, we can simply hope that the billion dollar companies do the right thing.

They haven’t in the past. So we need Open Source AI. AI that that gives users the ability to study and modify the AI models that govern their lives.

Users of AI solutions deserve transparency and control, which is why we introduced our Ethical AI rating in early 2023. Now, we see big tech firms trying to hijack the term open source AI. We fully endorse the creation of a clear definition of open source AI by the community to protect users and the market.

Frank Karlitschek

CEO and fouder of Nextcloud

The wider open source community has picked up the gauntlet as well, and after extensive consultation with the community, today the OSI has announced an official definition of Open Source AI. This will help users, from private users, to governments, research institutes, hospitals and businesses, to make decisions what systems they can trust.

So, today, It is a first step in a journey and we are glad to be a part of it. Nextcloud has formally endorsed the definition, even if we think there is room for improvement. We will use it as a basis for our Ethical AI Rating. Our rating is a bit more granular and also more critical in some areas – for example, when it comes to data, we believe it should be always fully available – and thus, for now, we will keep using it, as it fits the use cases of our users more.

We look forward to your input, both on the OSI definition – on the road to a 2.0 – and on our AI rating.

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Federation offers a solution to the challenges posed by centrally controlled public cloud applications by letting users communicate and collaborate between independent servers and even independent apps. In this article, we explain how federation works, what features you can use with federation in Nextcloud, and discover how it can help businesses and governments achieve digital sovereignty.

Whether you’re new to federation features or already familiar with them, let’s start with the basics.

Understanding the federated internet

It’s a well-known fact that on-premises software offers more autonomy compared to public cloud tools in several ways, largely due to the level of control organizations have over their infrastructure and data. Self-hosting is a definition of decentralization in the realm of collaborative technologies. An important question arises when considering self-hosting: how can we collaborate effectively using decentralized software?

The answer lies in federation – it’s the key to making decentralized collaboration possible. To understand federation, you need to ask yourself – how does email work? Email is, in fact, federation in action: it operates through a network of independent servers connected via standard protocols and allowing users from different domains to exchange messages with ease via single client.

Or take Mastodon, a federated social network where each instance is a separate server run by an independent entity or community. Each user can sign up on an instance they prefer, and then follow, reply to, or message users on other instances, making communication across the entire network seamless.

In Nextcloud, user’s Federated Cloud ID works similar to an email address or a Mastodon handle, allowing them to exchange data across servers: share files and and collaborate on documents, communicate in group chats and make audio and video calls.

Federation and digital sovereignty

Federation enables private users, organizations, and their departments to use independent infrastructure, hosting their software locally with customized security and compliance measures. Each entity operates its own platform while staying connected to a larger network that supports cross-server collaboration. This decentralized architecture reduces reliance on a single service provider. It also frees you from vendor lock-in, allowing you to choose a trusted provider and work with the software that meets your needs, all while retaining the ability to collaborate seamlessly across different platforms.

Regulators are responding to a growing backlash against big tech firms from users who perceive their behaviour as market abuse, with the term ‘malicious compliance’ being used. This trend causes a growing interest in decentralization technologies.

Frank Karlitschek

Nextcloud founder

Finally, self-hosting with federated features gives you full ownership and control over your data. You choose your own encryption and own access controls, or get more flexible where others can’t, pursuing only your own compliance objectives. Companies and governments can avoid numerous risks by not having to store data under unfavourable regulations, break free from the privacy terms of large cloud providers, and enjoy freedom without being controlled by foreign entities.

Federation in Nextcloud

In Nextcloud Hub, it is already possible to do a lot when it comes to federated collaboration, as we mentioned above. For example, you can share files across servers and even collaborate on them, while federation in Nextcloud Talk enables you to join group chats and run meetings on another server.

Besides better security, easier compliance and more independence, there’s also convenience: you don’t need to send invites or create guest accounts, or set up your own on somebody’s instance. Just use your own account and stay within familiar interface of your home platform — you won’t even notice any difference.

Sure, there are certain limitations, for example, you can’t create private federated chats in Nextcloud Talk yet. But we already support many essential and handy features like polls, markdown and user mentions. And federation in Nextcloud constantly evolves as we explore more abilities of the Federated Cloud Sharing API.

OCM, a foundation for federation features in Nextcloud 

Federated Cloud Sharing API in Nexctloud has been invented by Nextcloud founders Frank Karlitschek and Bjoern Schießle. It is a collaboratively developed standard that is a part of Open Cloud Mesh (OCM), an initiative of the GÉANT Association, a European collaboration on e-infrastructure and services for research and education.

Federated tools available in Nextcloud

Federated file sharing

Share documents and media to users in other Nextcloud Hub instances for viewing, editing and collaboration.

Federated chatting

Create group chats with users from different servers and use many essential chat tools.

Federated calls

Make audio and video calls with Nextcloud Talk among users from different servers.

How to configure federated features in your Nextcloud Hub

If you wish to configure and manage federation tools in your Nextcloud, you need to enable the Federation app and follow a few easy steps:

1. Enable the Federation app.
2. Allow your users to share and receive files from other servers.
3. Create a list of trusted servers to enable federation features for them.

Read our documentation for detailed instructions on enabling federation features and federated sharing, and creating federated conversations in Nextcloud Talk.

Webinar: Cross-organizational collaboration with Nextcloud federation

Watch our free webinar to understand federation, discover features and benefits of Nextcloud federation, and explore practical use cases.

Watch now

Federated calls and more amazing features in Nextcloud Hub 9

With Nextcloud Hub 9, we introduced federated calls in Nextcloud Talk, as well as multiple other exciting features across the entire platform. The latest update lets you stay connected like never before
— with new automation features, Nextcloud Whiteboard, new tools in Nextcloud Assistant, improved Nexcloud Mail and Nextcloud Calendar, and much more.

New to Nextcloud? There’s no better time to try it out! Get control over your data today with the most secure open-source collaboration platform.

Get Nextcloud Hub 9

Download and install Nextcloud Hub 9 here!

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