Sustaining Open Infrastructures in Changing Times

Sustaining Open Infrastructures in Changing Times Kathleen Gregory, Lynda Kellam, Irene Pasquetto, Katherine Skinner, Morgan Wofford ASIS&T 2025 Annual Meeting Washington, D.C. November 16, 2025 1 2 We are living in times of change. How can ‘open infrastructures’/content be sustained in times of significant change? 3 ●Identify and discuss tensions and issues ●Perspectives of different actors ●Next steps in research and intervention Aims of session Sustaining knowledge infrastructures The never-ending puzzle Networks of people, tech, content, policy Reconfiguring & evolving Edwards, 2010; Gregory et al., 2025; Bosman & Sondervan, 2025 4 Openness What is an open infrastructure? ●Open information/data ●Non-proprietary business models ●Community governance ●Particular values (inclusion, equity) ●Transparent processes Thaney, 2025; Okune et al., 2019 Tensions Constantly balancing and leveraging tensions Related to power, values, & voice Edwards et al., 2007; Ribes & Finholt, 2009; Karasti et al., 2016 Emerging tensions ●Development of AI Example: tensions between AIs and human actors ●Openness Example: tensions between ‘open’ and ‘proprietary’ values and models ●Ideologies Example: tensions between democratic and authoritarian stances Emerging tensions Issues of contention Development of AI ●Ownership and control ●New tasks and new actors ●Use/misuse of (open) content ●Research integrity Openness Ideologies ●Funding and business models ●Governance models ●Notions of ownership ●Knowledge security ●External policies and mandates ●Use/misuse of (open) content Talks (10+2 min) Katherine Skinner, Invest in Open Infrastructure (Openness) Morgan Wofford, University of Michigan (Ideologies) Lynda Kellam, University of Pennsylvania (Ideologies) Irene Pasquetto, University of Maryland (AI) Discussion (30min) Lightly moderated + audience questions Open-As-Spectra MORE OPEN LESS OPEN Consider where a few things might fall on the spectrum … Diamond OA, MIT license, CC-BY, S2O, Hybrid OA, GNUGPL, Free BSD, Freemium, Open Weight, BSD…and also LLC, 501c3, Community Interest Company, For Profit, VC, Community-governed, Shareholder governed, Co-op How do we reassess: OPEN = FREE OPEN = NON-PROPRIETARY OPEN = NONPROFIT OPEN = COMMUNITY DRIVEN Our challenge To thrive, we need open efforts and they need better support ●Open doesn’t happen for free – how do we support it, and are public/private ventures part of the answer? ●What rules of engagement (e.g., governance) are palatable and helpful to each stakeholder group? ●What structures can we create that encourage competition and collaboration to coexist? ●Who needs to be at the table, and how do we get them there? investinopen.org | @investinopen | Thank you! Katherine Skinner, PhD Director of Programs [email protected] Data Misuse as a Tension & Tool in Sustaining Open Infrastructures Morgan Wofford University of Michigan, School of Information [email protected] Collaborators: Irene Pasquetto, Andrea Thomer, and Zoe Cullen Political Pressures Technological Pressures Epistemic Pressures Data Misuse Why Data Misuse Matters # Type of Data Misuse Definition 1 Analytical errors Incorrect or flawed methods used during data analysis, leading to inaccurate or unreliable results 2 Misinterpretation Misunderstanding the meaning or implications of research data, potentially leading to incorrect conclusions 3 Misrepresentation Deliberate or unintentional distortion, alteration, or absence of data that may convey a false or incomplete impression or support a particular agenda 4 Reputational harm Damaging the reputation of the original data collectors, analyzers, or curators through actions such as lack of data citation, negated or unwarranted authorship, or generating public shame for perceived flaws in data 5 Privacy or geoprivacy violations Breaching the confidentiality of individuals or revealing sensitive location - based information, potentially causing harm or discomfort 6 Exploitation Unethical or harmful use of research data for personal gain or advantage, often at the expense of the subjects of the data 7 Uncritical use of biased and offensive data Failure to critically evaluate and challenge data sources that contain prejudices, offensive content, or discriminatory elements, perpetuating harmful stereotypes or narratives Pasquetto, I. V., Cullen, Z., Thomer, A., & Wofford, M. (2024). What is research data “misuse”? And how can it be prevented or mitigated? Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.24944 Misuse is Contextual Past Present Future What constitutes misuse at each stage? Case: Climate Crisis Skeptics Data Rescue Project Lynda Kellam @lyndamk | @datarescueproject.org Sustaining Public Data What are public federal data resources? “just as engineers regularly assess the physical infrastructure of America’s transportation network of roads, bridges, airports, and railroads, so too must the statistics profession assess the nation’s federal statistical data infrastructure.” American Statistical Association. “The Nation’s Data at Risk.” July 9, 2024. Retrieved https://www.amstat.org/docs/defaultsource/amstat-documents/the-nation's-dataat-risk---report.pdf Political Volatility Technological Pressures CC4.0 by Kim Scarborough from Chicago, IL, More Spaghetti, I Say Underinvestment Icon made by Pavani TLN from www.flaticon.com Pressures on Public Data Infrastructure Political Pressures Data Rescue Project www.datarescueproject.org/ bsky.app/profile/datarescueproject.org www.datarescueproject.org/ bsky.app/profile/datarescueproject.org www.datarescueproject.org/ bsky.app/profile/datarescueproject.org Our mission The Data Rescue Project serves as a lifeboat for atrisk US Governmental Datasets. Our dedicated steering committee and community of volunteers work towards the continued and robust accessibility of these at-risk datasets. Data Rescue Project