Reflections on AI, attribution and the creative commons
Attribution as the norm: creativity, AI and the commons
Wikipedia and Creative Commons both turn 25 this year, built on the promise that shared work will carry its maker's name. Drawing on Creative Commons' webinar Attribution as the Norm, I look at what happens to creativity when AI breaks that chain of credit. Fashion makes the stakes clear: legal protection for designs is thin, so the industry relies on informal norms of reference. When designs become raw material for AI platforms without being named, homage can start to feel like theft. Through Elinor Ostrom's commons lens, I ask how attribution sustains reciprocity and trust, and what governance could make it the default again.
