Ubuntu Linux Will Begin Landing AI Features Throughout the Next Year
phoronix.comI don't get this focus on the technology that's driving the features, over the features themselves.
Maybe I'm just not the typical Linux user anymore, but as a user, when I think about what I want feature-wise from software, I think in terms of concrete features: I want X, Y, and Z new functionality. If the developer can "use AI" to power it, fine. If they use traditional algorithms to power it, also fine. If they use literal sorcery to power it, great, I don't care.
At no point in my life have I ever said "I want technology ABC to power features, but I don't really have in mind what those features might be."
I actually think it's the opposite. The impression I get from the 'average Linux user' is that they want more control over and insight to what their system/programs are doing, whereas AI tends to provide less. I appreciate open-source code because you can see how it works, instead of black-box 'sorcery'
I understand the benefits of abstracting some of these features away for casual users...but even Ubuntu, arguably one of the most 'casual' flavors of Linux, is still geared more towards a 'power user' than your average Joe
They're going to be adding a bunch of AI features. They don't have any plan for what the features are, but they will definitely be AI.
This is almost as dumb as rebranding a shoe company as an AI company, or your tea brand as a blockchain brand.
The only clue they have is the incredibly generic "explain system logs". That's it, that's the only AI feature they've come up with so far. What an absolute load.
Good. Let the slopwares collapse into themselves, from GNU/Linux, to Hurd (sadly) and Ubuntu. Trisquel will be damned, but Hyperbola BSD -after Hyperbola GNU- will be like the Phoenix bird.
If they can improve the driver situation and make those copilot+ NPU better supported under Linux I am all for it.
But if AI is going to be the new snap, I think more people will switch to Debian despite their ancient kernel and applications.
> ancient kernel and applications
This isn't as big a problem these days. Most people run the latest LTS of Ubuntu. Until a week ago, Ubuntu LTS was OLDER (in kernel and in software) than the latest Debian release.
In between, Ubuntu has the HWE kernels and Debian usually backports them.
Fair point, but right now latest Ubuntu is on 7.x while latest debian is on 6.19.
Latest AMD ryzen for example works much better on 7.1
7.0.1 has been in Debian experimental for a few days now. Shouldn't be much longer.
Do you need to use testing to get the updated packages?
Backports maybe.
I'd rather the system start managing models rather than each app doing their own thing. Whether that's engineering for and supporting KServe and inference snaps, an Ollama systemd service, or something else I don't care. But it's time to get serious about system tooling around AI.
Also in https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47919835 with the original announcement
Has anyone ever seen a person using "context-aware OS" features like Microsoft Recall ?
There was an early product named Rewind.ai (they have pivoted to Limitless Pin) which did essentially the same, I used it frequently - it essentially browser history but for everything you do on your computer, and you’ll get just about the same value as that.
I barely see people using computers at all.
But it is because I barely see people.
well, I guess I left Ubuntu just in time for the inevitable AI enshittification.
I stayed even as Unity and Gnome 3 made the rounds (which I was also unhappy about), but changed a month ago to a European Linux and Desktop Environment.
Well lets just hope this AI is not a burden on us.
Hopefully they're bringing existing ML features from other systems to Linux.
and what would those features be, exactly?
and why couldn't i just 'apt install' them in myself, if/when i wanted them?
> and what would those features be, exactly?
Have system search index image, video and audio contents, for example. So you can type dog and media with dogs in them will show up.
> and why couldn't i just 'apt install' them in myself, if/when i wanted them?
Because as of now you can't 'apt install' nonexistent packages.
AI does not let you 'apt install' nonexistent packages either
I wondered which of this distros would be the first to attempt this shit. Hopefully Red Hat has more sense