The problem is cultural, not technical or legal. Most people are at best indifferent and more often supportive of the exploitation of others. Unless that changes, the exploitation will be relentless. AI is a new tool that facilitates a kind of exploitation. But the fundamental inclination to exploit with minimal appreciation and compensation is nothing new. Exploitation is not merely tolerated. It is broadly encouraged and venerated. The law is primarily a tool of the elite to protect themselves. It does little to protect the interests of a typical FOSS contributor and the state does even less. There have been a few cases fought and won but compared to the scale of the industry, the resources committed to defending FOSS are trivial. That’s no more the end of FOSS now than it was in the beginning. It will probably reduce revenue for a few companies that have been exploiting FOSS and FOSS producers for profit. The vast majority of contributors were never compensated. Of those that were, it was typically far less than the value of their contributions.