NLnet Publishes More Stringent Generative AI Policy
NLnet has published a new version of its generative AI policy (version 2.0). The revised policy is more restrictive than prior versions, stemming from the foundation's practical experience with thousands of applications processed since the previous policy was published. Generative AI can no longer be used for writing proposals - with the noted exception of supporting accessibility needs. For project development the use of LLMs and diffusion models is confined to read-only usage. These limitations will drastically simplify and speed up evaluation of proposals and work delivered, and allow the foundation to spend more time on actual grantees.
Our new policy is first and foremost a pragmatic measure towards self-protection. Last year we left our processes open to moderate use of LLMs and similar deep-learning systems in case their use was clearly documented, but the result of this experiment has been underwhelming and overwhelming at the same time
, says Michiel Leenaars, director of Strategy at NLnet foundation. We found ourselves having to process an avalanche of additional proposals lacking maturity and relevance. Upon closer inspection, proposals involving AI were on the whole of much lower quality than we are used to at NLnet - and at the same time very taxing and demotivating for our experts to wade through
, says Leenaars.
We recognise there is plenty of potential for generative AI for a variety of use cases
, Leenaars comments. We are not trying to make a more general point about quality, ethical consideration, or security, nor are we making decisions or recommendations for others on whether the use of agents will work for their use cases. It is just that for our particular domain of digital infrastructure and at this point in time, the actual yield turns out to not be worth the additional effort.
How does the new policy affect applicants and grantees?
- The updated policy is effective immediately, and applies to all open calls from NLnet which have their deadline later than the publication date of the new policy. This includes the upcoming calls of Restack and CodeSupply, which have their first deadline on November 3rd 2026.
- Applicants who already put in proposals for these programmes prior to the deadline (against NLnet's recommendation), are urgently advised to check their eligibility with the new policy. If applicants find their proposal or approach is not compatible with the new policy, they may simply update their proposal to comply with the new policy before the deadline. Applicants should follow the regular process for this, meaning they simply resubmit a revised proposal through the application form - preferably mentioning their current proposal ID. Applicants can resubmit any number of times until the deadline has passed.
- There is a transitional arrangement for applicants and beneficiaries from programmes which are in a concluding phase (notably NGI Zero Commons Fund, NGI Taler and Fediversity). Proposals still under evaluation for those funds will be treated as per the previous (v1.1) version of the GenAI policy out of clemency, but may choose to voluntarily follow the new revised policy in the light of future applications.
