If you’re looking for a document editor that doesn’t use artificial intelligence, LibreOffice might be the software for you.
The Document Foundation, the nonprofit software maker behind the open source document editor LibreOffice, said in a blog post this week that while it doesn’t reject AI outright, it has “no plans to add” it to its software for the time being.
The blog post comes weeks after the latest version of LibreOffice was released in late August, with the nonprofit reiterating that the software “does not include generative AI capabilities.”
LibreOffice said at the time that this was an “intentional design position” to prevent users’ documents from being uploaded to servers for processing, and to ensure that no part of the software required a network connection to function. The nonprofit added that its software is used by tens of millions of people and organizations, and users need to remain in control of their data.
“Organizations that handle sensitive, legally privileged, or personal data need to know where that data is going, and the only guarantee that it will survive an audit is that it never leaves the machine,” the organization said.
LibreOffice says users can choose to use AI tools by installing a software extension that connects the document editor to a local AI model.
The decision to avoid including AI capabilities goes against the trend of many software makers today, who try to incorporate as much AI as possible even at the expense of sacrificing the user experience. The so-called “functionalization” of modern software by stuffing it with unnecessary and bloated features, such as chatbots and AI assistants, has led some developers to create or include features that block or remove AI functionality altogether.
AI tools often require users’ data to be uploaded to remote servers for processing, but users have no control over how or for how long the data is stored.
LibreOffice said there is currently “no” integration that meets all of its requirements, including ensuring that users’ data is stored on the device and not relying on a single AI provider. While the organization’s criteria for incorporating AI into software is not a “definitive rejection,” this decision was an evaluation of today’s technology rather than a “judgment on the value of the field.”
“Until then, the default installation will not include any kind of AI. Extensions are available for those who want to integrate AI capabilities, and we will be closely monitoring where the technology is actually headed,” LibreOffice’s blog post reads.
LibreOffice is one of many types of open source and alternative software used to keep it out of the hands of Silicon Valley tech giants.
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