If you're in search of a document editor that steers clear of artificial intelligence, LibreOffice might be exactly what you need. This week, The Document Foundation—the nonprofit organization responsible for the open source LibreOffice suite—announced in a blog post that although it doesn't outright dismiss AI, it "will not add" AI capabilities to its software for the foreseeable future. This announcement followed the release of LibreOffice's newest version in late August, where the nonprofit emphasized that the software "contains no generative AI features."

At that time, LibreOffice described this as a "deliberate design position," aimed at guaranteeing that users' documents aren't sent to a server for processing and that the software doesn't need an internet connection to operate. The nonprofit noted that its software serves tens of millions of individuals and organizations, and that users ought to maintain control over their data. "Any organisation handling confidential, legally privileged or personal data needs to know where that data goes, and the only assurance that survives an audit is that it does not leave the machine," the organization stated. LibreOffice points out that users can still opt to use AI tools by adding software extensions that link the document editor to local AI models. This choice to avoid incorporating AI features goes against the current trend among many software developers who try to cram in as much AI as possible, sometimes at the expense of user experience. The so-called "enshittification" of modern software—through the addition of unnecessary and bloated features like chatbots and AI assistants—has led some developers to create or incorporate features that block or eliminate AI features entirely. AI tools frequently need users' data to be uploaded and processed on a remote server, leaving users with no control over how the data is stored or how long it's kept. LibreOffice said that there is currently "no integration" that satisfies all its requirements, including keeping users' data on their own devices and avoiding dependence on a single AI provider, among other factors. The organization's standards for adding AI to its software don't represent a "definitive rejection," but rather an evaluation of the technology as it stands today, not a "judgement on the value of the sector."

"Until then, there will be no AI of any kind in the default installation; extensions will be available for those who wish to integrate AI features, and we will closely monitor where the technology is actually heading," the LibreOffice blog post said. LibreOffice is among the many open source and alternative software options people use to break free from the grip of Silicon Valley tech giants.