LibreOffice 26.8, released connected August 26th, became the software’s astir celebrated update. LibreOffice is simply a free replacement to Microsoft Office that’s been astir for astir 2 decades. In 1 week, the installer was downloaded much than 1 million times — not counting updates via Linux distribution repositories.
Someone mightiness opportunity the improvements to the penning strategy and typography are a deed among NGOs, authorities agencies, and offices that usage LibreOffice. I’m putting my money connected a “non-feature,” though: the connection that LibreOffice doesn’t travel pinch generative AI features owed to the technology’s (lack of) privacy.
A time aft celebrating the download grounds and the wide media coverage, The Document Foundation (TDF), which manages the software, spelled retired its position successful a station titled “Yes, nary AI is now a feature”.
The article, signed by Italo Vignoli, says TDF “does not cull artificial intelligence retired of hand,” but that the exertion doesn’t yet meet an exhaustive database of principles to beryllium included by default. Those principles are:
- User-controlled execution.
- No contented whitethorn time off the machine without authorization.
- No telemetry of immoderate kind.
- No dependency connected a azygous vendor.
- No compromises connected [file] format.
- Entirely optional.
For now, TDF recommends organization plugins to merge AI into LibreOffice.
TDF’s unique stance “has almost thing to do pinch the technology,” the article continues, earlier taking a jab astatine rivals that dove headfirst into AI. For the foundation, “an AI adjunct justifies a value summation and strengthens the lawsuit for keeping each documents wrong its ain infrastructure,” referring to companies that trust connected trading subscriptions.
The Document Foundation’s elaborate mentation whitethorn disappoint anyone who publication the announcement astatine the LibreOffice 26.8 motorboat arsenic an anti-AI manifesto.
Whatever the reasons, the LibreOffice 26.8 lawsuit answers a mobility I and others person had since 2023: if the full marketplace now offers AI baked successful package of each kind, is location really nary room for AI-free alternatives to guidelines out? Apparently, location is.
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