Post by @neil@mastodon.neilzone.co.uk

I have been pondering the Debian / Linux kernel / other bits situation, re. genAI, and what I want to do.

I don't have good answers, but it struck me that some things are easier than others for me. practically speaking.

From easier to harder:

1. Not using genAI myself. Very easy.

2. Where I am involved in projects, pushing back on use of genAI / encouraging policies which reject genAI.

3. Not using software which surfaces genAI functionality (i.e. finding an alternative to calibre, rather than just not using calibre's genAI functionality).

4. Not using software which I know was / was likely to have been coded using genAI (e.g. finding an alternative kernel etc.)

5. Not using software which was coded using genAI, where this is undeclared.

12 Replies

0 Boosts

Missingtale

@misingtale@mastodon.social 2 hr. ago

@neil has the anti AI thing become abit simplistic?
Should a local model working on local data be treated the same as a techbro slop machine?
Is an AI translation engine that can do 80% of the heavy lift in localisation a bad thing so long as it is checked thoroughly if you can now offer more language support?
Is the ai that picked up more indicators of cancer in samples worse for humanity?
But the arrogance with which these models have been built and shoved into everything needs to change.

Neil Brown

@neil@mastodon.neilzone.co.uk 1 hr. ago

@misingtale If there was a genAI tool which was consensually/ethically trained, and was environmentally friendly, I'd be interested to learn more.

Heathen 🐈

@heathen_cat@furs.social 2 hr. ago

@neil
Using older versions of software without the AI is also possible. I don't think I've upgraded Calibre since I installed it 8 years ago.

Neil Brown

@neil@mastodon.neilzone.co.uk 2 hr. ago

@heathen_cat Yes, with potentially significant security trade offs :(

MrJoshua

@JoshMurray@mastodon.social 2 hr. ago

@neil I didn’t know Calibre had become polluted!

Neil Brown

@neil@mastodon.neilzone.co.uk 2 hr. ago

@JoshMurray

https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2026/08/calibre-ebook-ai-covers

View

MrJoshua

@JoshMurray@mastodon.social 2 hr. ago

@neil 🤮

Neil Brown

@neil@mastodon.neilzone.co.uk 2 hr. ago

For instance, I am not - realistically - going to immediately stop using Linux. It *might* be possible, longer term, but it is definitely longer term. And I don't know how realistic the other options are.

Other software might be easier to replace. That needs a case-by-case assessment. Until such time as all the options for all the software I want/need to use makes use of genAI.

But not using genAI? That's easy.

mini

@mini@perfect.moe 1 hr. ago

@neil I’m not sure what options you end up with that are definitively anti-llm sadly. NetBSD is I believe, as is Haiku. I’m not aware of any other OSes that are credible that are :/

Bruno Girin

@brunogirin@mastodon.me.uk 1 hr. ago

@neil I've been playing with FreeBSD for that reason. Absolutely fine for a server with no GUI, I haven't tried on a desktop or laptop yet.

One interesting thing with FreeBSD is that it has an optional Linux binary compatibility layer so in theory you can run anything that runs in Linux.

I reckon it's a case of do what you can when you can and every little helps.

Ken Milmore

@kbm0@mastodon.social 2 hr. ago

@neil I am wondering (hoping) whether there might eventually be a reversal of the current trend to use slop everywhere - maybe driven by an increase in costs. Projects like the Linux kernel probably aren't heavily tainted yet and are not beyond rescue - there is still a lot of careful review going on. I doubt the current situation will continue without consequences, although admittedly things are more likely to get much worse than they are to get better.

woollypigs

@woollypigs@sudomakecake.com 2 hr. ago

@neil this Debian Vs Ai thing just reminds me of a campaign years ago where people wanted to boycott Shell. You soon figured out it was everything, everywhere and the alternative did the same as Shell.