As a global leader in open licensing and copyright, we have long stood at the intersection of innovation in the public interest, creativity, and access to knowledge. With the rise of consumer-facing generative AI, which is changing the way people share and access knowledge online, it became clear: CC had to act—urgently, but with care.

Listening First: Community Engagement in 2022-2024

In response, we launched a global consultation effort. We hosted workshops in New York, Boston, San Francisco, London, and Berlin. We attended conferences and convenings globally and tracked and engaged in the development of AI policy and legislation.

A clear message emerged: many creators and communities feel uneasy about their content being used to develop AI without transparency and are seeking ways to regain agency. Our community has called on us to intervene with new tools that help rebalance power, ultimately infusing the AI ecosystem with reciprocity.

Why CC Is Uniquely Positioned

This moment mirrors another inflection point: the rise of the mainstream internet in the early 2000s. Back then, CC challenged the “all rights reserved” vs. “no rights reserved” binary by offering nuanced, practical tools for creators. The CC licenses made it easy to share and have been applied to tens of billions of works on the internet, growing the creative commons and increasing access to knowledge.

Today’s AI challenges call for similarly creative but practical solutions. Once again, sharing on the internet is being tested. Once again, the commons is at stake.

CC is striving to make sure that AI doesn’t lead to a more closed internet or reduce public access to knowledge and culture. 

Once again, Creative Commons is challenging the all-or-nothing binary to offer another way.

Guiding Our Work

The AI landscape is complex. Our principled response to sharing in the age of AI is simple.

• The commons is under threat but expanding copyright is not the solution.
• Ideas, facts, and other building blocks of knowledge belong to the public domain and should be free for everyone to use.
• The long term sustainability of the commons depends on an AI ecosystem that produces shared benefits.

Our Path Forward

AI is built on the commons. To serve the public interest, AI must help grow, not diminish, the commons, ensuring benefits are widely shared. We need a new social contract, anchored in reciprocity and a shared commitment to the commons. Here is our plan.

CC Signals

To meet this moment, CC is developing a preference signals framework to function as a simple pact among creators and AI developers. We believe openness and responsibility can and must co-exist, and that thoughtful tools can shape a better digital future for everyone.

• 🔊We want to hear from you. Get involved in the development of CC signals. 👉Now ready for feedback.
• Learn why we believe CC signals are the most effective intervention we can make right now. 👉CC Signals: A New Social Contract for the Age of AI
• On board already? Jump ahead to give feedback on our draft proposal.  👉CC Signals Implementation

AI & the CC Licenses

While CC signals are designed to directly address the challenges raised by AI, CC licenses and public domain tools still have an important role to play. We are continually monitoring and helping to make sense of the complex relationship between AI, copyright, and the CC licenses.

👉 Read more on our analysis and guidance on training AI on CC-licensed content.

AI Policy

We advocate for AI policies that protect the public interest and uphold the values of access to knowledge. We work with policy makers and other civil society organizations to ensure AI policy advances the public interest.

Let’s Work Together

This is a shared challenge, and a shared opportunity.

Whether you’re a funder, developer, policymaker, educator, platform operator, or creator, your participation matters.

Get involved:

• Fund: Make an annual recurring donation via our Open Infrastructure Circle. This work will require a large amount of resourcing, over many years, to make happen.
• Join: Express early interest in supporting or implementing CC signals by getting involved in the next steps of development.
• Amplify: Invite a CC expert to present, join a panel, or give a keynote address on AI and the commons, sharing in the age of AI, AI and copyright, and CC signals by sending an email to communications@creativecommons.org.

Change takes all of us. Let’s build this future—together.