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Thank You, Leiden—You Were Amazing!

/ / Events, Public AI

On Tuesday, March 18, 2025, I had the privilege of speaking at Leiden University’s Telders Auditorium, located in the heart of Leiden, Netherlands. It was an inspiring afternoon filled with positive academic energy, thought-provoking discussions, and a shared passion for digital preservation of our collective memory. Many thanks to Jos Damen and Dirk Visser for co-hosting and organizing the afternoon.

Brewster Kahle at Leiden University, photo by Beatrice Murch

Exploring the Future of Libraries and AI

This special event focused on the exciting possibilities at the intersection of libraries and artificial intelligence. My talk introduced the Internet Archive Europe’s efforts to leverage AI and other tools to enhance accessibility and relevance to vast cultural heritage collections of our partners.

Key Takeaways from the Talk

✅ Championing Cultural Diversity – How Public AI can reflect European values, support smaller languages, and ensure that no cultural narratives are lost.

✅ Empowering Accessibility – We explored how AI-driven assistive technologies can improve access to library resources for individuals with reading challenges.

✅ Revolutionizing Discovery – We discussed how machine learning can improve metadata, making digital collections easier to search and navigate, bringing them to life.

✅ Addressing Global Challenges – The potential of AI in tackling global issues such as climate change was also a key topic of discussion.

Brewster, Jos, Dirk and Ronald with the Project Owl, by Vera de Kok – CC BY-SA 4.0

Presentation of Owl Award

On behalf of the Internet Archive, I was deeply honored to receive the ProjectUil (Project Owl) from Wikimedia Nederland. Ronald Velgersdijk the organizer of the Dutch Wiki Owls, presented me with the 2024 Project Owl. Vera de Kok, another Dutch Wikipedian, was on hand to document the whole event with photos and wrote up a wonderful summary of the presentation of the owl and the lecture. We appreciate all the time and effort all Wikipedia contributors put in to make the internet a place for knowledge.

Looking Ahead: Move Ahead, He Said

The atmosphere in the room was enthusiastic, perfectly captured by Dirk Visser, Professor of Intellectual Property Law at Leiden Law School, who passionately encouraged the audience with his call to action “To move ahead as quickly as possible!”, acknowledging that “there certainly will be legal issues, but [the archive community] should of course invoke Article 3 for all things that are not for profit”. 

His words resonated deeply, reaffirming our collective commitment to both preserving knowledge and driving innovation forward.

I left Leiden feeling inspired by the engagement and thoughtful questions from the audience. This event reinforced the Internet Archive Europe’s mission—to build a global digital library that is accessible to all and to foster a community where digital collections truly come to life.

Thank you, Leiden, for an unforgettable experience! Your energy and enthusiasm remind me that when we combine passion with purpose, we can achieve extraordinary things. Let’s continue to push boundaries and shape the future of digital knowledge together!

— Brewster Kahle

🔗 Explore more about the Internet Archive Europe’s mission, in our “news about Internet Archive Europe“.

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Brewster Kahle to Deliver Lecture at Leiden University on Digital Libraries and AI

/ / Events, Public AI

Internet Archive Europe Lecture at Leiden University

Renowned digital librarian Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive, will deliver a lecture at Leiden University on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, from 16:00 to 17:00 CET. The event will take place at Rapenburg 73, Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands (2311 GJ), in the Telders Auditorium.

📢 Register here to attend the event.

Brewster Kahle and the Mission of the Internet Archive

Brewster Kahle has dedicated his career to creating a digital library accessible to all, preserving over 145+ petabytes of data—including books, web pages, music, television, and software. The Internet Archive collaborates with 1,200+ library and university partners worldwide to safeguard cultural heritage and enhance public access to knowledge.

Founded in 2004, Stichting Internet Archive / Internet Archive Europe is a non-profit research library that works with European cultural heritage organisations to archive digital collections. Thanks to support from KPN/XS4ALL, these valuable resources are stored in the Netherlands.

Exploring AI and Digital Archives in Europe

With the encouragement of European directives, new opportunities are emerging to make digital collections more dynamic and accessible. This lecture will explore how Internet Archive Europe can collaborate with research institutions and cultural heritage organisations to expand access to digital archives.

Key discussion points will include:

  • Developing assistive technologies to help individuals with reading difficulties access library resources.
  • The potential for Public AI to reflect European values and support smaller languages.
  • Using AI and machine learning to address major challenges like climate change.
  • Leveraging AI for enhanced metadata and improved searchability of vast collections.
Join the Discussion on the Future of Digital Knowledge

This lecture is an opportunity to engage in a thought-provoking conversation about the future of AI, digital libraries, and open access in Europe. How can Internet Archive Europe and its partners maximise the potential of AI to serve the public good?

📅 Event Details:
 📍 Location: Telders Auditorium, Leiden University, Rapenburg 73, Leiden, Netherlands
🕓 Date & Time: Tuesday, March 18, 2025 | 16:00 – 17:00 CET
🔗 Register now
🗣️ Language: English 🇬🇧

This event is open to researchers, librarians, and anyone interested in the intersection of AI, digital preservation, and open access.

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Whispering Innovation: How the EU’s Legislative Framework Enables AI Breakthrough in Sweden

/ / Public AI

The National Library of Sweden has unveiled KB-Whisper, an AI model that converts spoken language into written text with remarkable precision. This innovation demonstrates how the EU’s legislative framework fosters AI advancements that enhance accessibility, research, and linguistic diversity through responsible development.

A Breakthrough in Swedish Speech-to-Text

KB-Whisper exemplifies AI’s potential to serve the public good. Trained on over 50,000 hours of Swedish-language audio—including television programs, parliamentary sessions, and regional dialects—the model delivers the most accurate Swedish speech transcription to date, reducing word-level errors by 47% compared to existing models.

This achievement is possible thanks to the EU’s copyright and AI rules, which provide a regulatory framework that supports responsible AI development while ensuring transparency and accountability. By enabling institutions like KB to access extensive datasets for training, the EU empowers AI models that cater to European linguistic and cultural needs.

Enhancing Accessibility and Innovation

KB-Whisper is a game-changer for accessibility. By improving television subtitles and making Sweden’s national archives more searchable, the model significantly expands public access to information. Beyond cultural applications, it also enhances customer service through automated transcription and assists healthcare professionals with precise medical dictation transcriptions.

These applications showcase how EU policies, such as the AI Act and open-data initiatives, drive AI innovation that prioritizes inclusivity, linguistic diversity, and public knowledge access.

AI as a Democratic Tool for Research

Another standout feature of KB-Whisper is its ability to unlock historical and cultural materials for researchers. By transcribing audio archives into searchable text, the model grants academic researchers and the public access to previously inaccessible content.

The EU’s commitment to open science and knowledge-sharing has led to the democratization of data, underscoring the vital role of publicly funded AI projects in benefiting society as a whole.

The EU Advantage in AI Development

KB-Whisper’s success highlights the advantages of AI development within the EU’s regulatory framework. By promoting ethical AI training, ensuring transparency, and safeguarding linguistic diversity, the EU fosters innovation that benefits businesses, citizens, research institutions, and cultural organizations alike.

The EU’s approach to AI regulation proves that proper governance strengthens rather than stifles technological progress. By balancing innovation with rights protection, Europe is shaping AI solutions that are both cutting-edge and socially responsible. And that’s a model worth following.

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