Human Source License (HSL)
The Human Source License (HSL) is a source-available license introduced in 2026 as a response to AI companies using human-written code without permission or compensation. It allows free use for individuals, researchers, and internal operations, while requiring commercial licenses for large-scale users and AI model training. HSL aims to protect human creativity by restricting AI-derived contributions and ensuring value capture from high-revenue entities. It is currently a working draft and has not been legally reviewed.
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Human Source License (HSL) A source-available license for the age of AI. Why Open source was built on a simple social contract: developers share their work freely, and the community gives back through contributions and goodwill. AI companies and hyper-scalers have broken this contract. They extract decades of human-written code to build billion-dollar models and managed services — without permission, compensation, or credit. HSL is a direct response to this extraction. What HSL is a concise license that keeps software free for the community while capturing value from those who profit most: Free for the 99%: Free for individuals, researchers, and any organization's internal operations. Large-Scale Commercial Use: Companies with >$100M revenue (inflation-adjusted) require a license for external software or services. AI Model Protection: Any use for training, running, or supporting AI models for third parties requires a commercial license, regardless of revenue. Professional Services Friendly: Using the software as a tool for consulting and custom development remains free. Human Hands Only: Contributions from AI agents are rejected. HSL is for human-to-human collaboration. Who HSL was developed by Dr. Ralph M. Debusmann in 2026 for Kafi and other projects that believe human creativity deserves protection. Use it Copy LICENSE into your repo. Replace [Project Name], [Year], and [Copyright Holder] with your own. Status HSL v0.2 is a working draft. It has been structured for international use (with specific protections for European and US jurisdictions) but has not yet been reviewed by a lawyer.
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