FOSDEM 2026: When Open Source Meets Artificial Intelligence
A weekend in Brussels reveals what's at stake – for all of us
Last weekend, over 8,000 developers and technology enthusiasts gathered in Brussels for FOSDEM 2026 – Europe's largest open source conference. What was discussed there affects not just programmers, but everyone who uses a smartphone, browses the internet, or relies on digital services.
What exactly is open source – and why should I care?
Imagine buying a car where you're neither allowed to look under the bonnet nor change a light bulb yourself. That's precisely how proprietary software works: you use it, but you don't know what's happening inside, and you're not permitted to change anything.
Open source is the opposite: the entire blueprint is openly available. Anyone can examine it, improve it, and share it. This transparency made the internet as we know it possible in the first place. The programme "curl", for instance – which you've probably never heard of – runs on an estimated 20 to 50 billion devices worldwide. In your smartphone, in your car, in your smartwatch.
The two faces of AI
The opening keynote at FOSDEM 2026 bore the telling title "FOSS in times of war, scarcity and (adversarial) AI". Michiel Leenaars from the NLnet Foundation articulated the dilemma clearly: artificial intelligence is simultaneously a blessing and a curse for the open source movement.
The positive side: New AI-powered tools are finding bugs in programme code that remained undetected for decades. They analyse millions of lines of code and identify vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. Security levels are rising.
The problematic side: At the same time, open source projects are being flooded with useless, AI-generated reports. Daniel Stenberg, the developer of the aforementioned curl project, reported on his experiences at FOSDEM: in the first three weeks of 2026 alone, his team received 20 security reports – all AI-generated, all worthless. As a consequence, he ended his project's bug bounty programme at the end of January 2026 after six years.
The problem: people are using AI chatbots to "discover" supposed security vulnerabilities without verifying the results. The generated reports look professional at first glance but often contain entirely fabricated flaws. Volunteer developers then spend hours refuting phantom problems – time that's missing for genuine improvements.
Europe wakes up: Digital sovereignty
Another core theme at FOSDEM 2026 was Europe's digital independence. The dependence on a handful of large technology corporations – almost exclusively from the USA and China – is increasingly recognised as a risk.
A concrete proposal was discussed at the conference: an EU Sovereign Tech Fund, financed from the next EU budget 2028-2034. The idea: just as Europe builds and maintains roads and bridges as public infrastructure, it should also invest in digital infrastructure. After all, open source software is the foundation upon which our digital economy is built.
Municipalities and regions are already demonstrating how it can be done: from democratic participation platforms to open administrative software and transparent parliamentary tools, solutions are emerging across Europe that can be shared and adapted.
What does this mean for you?
The discussions at FOSDEM may sound technical, but they have concrete implications for your daily life:
Trust in technology: When an application's code is openly available, independent experts can verify whether your data is secure. With proprietary software, you must trust the manufacturer blindly.
Long-term availability: Open source software cannot simply be discontinued when a company goes bankrupt or changes strategy. The community can continue developing it.
Independence: The more critical infrastructure is based on open source, the less vulnerable we are to being held to ransom by individual providers or governments.
Quality through collaboration: When thousands of developers worldwide work on and scrutinise software, errors are found and fixed more quickly.
The balancing act
FOSDEM 2026 demonstrated that the open source community faces a balancing act. AI tools can improve software quality – but only when used by people with expertise. At the same time, misuse through "AI spam" requires new defensive strategies and burdens developers who often work on a voluntary basis.
The good news: the community is addressing these challenges. At the conference, problems were not merely identified but solutions were also discussed – from sustainable funding models to improved processes and political initiatives.
Conclusion: Openness requires commitment
The future of the digital world is not decided solely in corporate headquarters, but also in places like the campus of the Free University of Brussels, where thousands of people gather on a January weekend to work together on better software – voluntarily and accessible to all.
As users, we can support this work: through conscious decisions in favour of open source alternatives, by reporting genuine problems (and refraining from AI-generated nonsense), and by recognising that behind every free piece of software are people investing their time.
FOSDEM 2026 made one thing abundantly clear: open source is not a niche topic for tech enthusiasts. It is the foundation of our digital society – and deserves our attention.
This article originally appeared on [silentmonkey.de]. If you have questions about digital strategy for your business, I'm happy to help.
