Embracing Open-Source Solutions in the Age of AI: A Path to Digital Independence

Everywhere you look, whether in print or on the web, the rage is AI. I’m part of the group that sees potential in machine learning and how it might reshape our educational systems. All the major tech companies have embraced it, and at the same time, many folks are sure that it spells the end of authentic authorship. In addition to some of the slop created with artificial intelligence, there is a growing concern for our privacy. Some people allege that their original works are being used to train large language models without permission.

In the past couple of years, I have asked folks in higher education and K-12 if their institutions have policies stipulating how teachers and students can use this emerging technology that continues to increase. With few exceptions, such policies do not exist. There are the Luddites who refuse to acknowledge its presence, some who believe in ubiquity but have very few policies, and those who stipulate no policy.

Most major operating systems and many of their applications now incorporate AI features, making it challenging to avoid them. A recent article at Tom’s Hardware indicated that Microsoft has enabled data scraping by default in Excel and Word. The article stated that the ‘opt-out’ switch is difficult to find. There is a solution: high-quality, freely accessible software. This solution consists of open-source software that does not include artificial intelligence algorithms. The best part is that you don’t have to give up your existing operating systems unless you choose to. If you decide to switch, I recommend considering one of the major Linux distributions, as they can help extend the life of your hardware and software.

LibreOffice is a comprehensive office suite that includes a word processor (Writer), a spreadsheet application (Calc), and presentation software (Impress). It allows you to save your work in open formats, ensuring you always have access to your documents. When using proprietary software, those programs save your work in inaccessible formats unless you continue to purchase a license for that product. LibreOffice uses open documents, which ensure that your job is always accessible to you. LibreOffice is also available on Linux, MacOS, and Windows and is open source.

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a fully featured alternative to proprietary photo editing software and includes embedded AI capabilities. Gimp is used for image manipulation, editing, free-form drawing, converting between various image file formats, and other specialized tasks. The software is extensible through plugins and supports scripting for enhanced functionality. It is open source with a GPL v. 3 license.

Inkscape is a free, open-source vector graphics editor for Unix-compatible systems, including Linux, Windows, and macOS. It provides a robust set of tools and is widely used for creating artistic and technical illustrations, such as cartoons, clip art, logos, typography, diagrams, and flowcharts. Inkscape uses vector graphics to ensure sharp printouts and renderings at any resolution, unlike raster graphics, which are limited by pixel dimensions.

Blender is a robust, open-source software suite for 3D modeling and animation, extensively utilized across diverse industries such as animation, visual effects, art, and 3D printing. It provides a comprehensive array of modeling, texturing, sculpting, rigging, animation, rendering, compositing, and motion-tracking tools within a single, versatile application.

Audacity is a free and open-source digital audio editor for Windows, macOS, and Linux. In addition to recording audio from various sources, Audacity provides extensive post-processing features for all types of audio. These features include effects such as normalization, trimming, and fading in and out. Audacity can record multiple tracks at once. Audacity natively supports importing and exporting WAV, AIFF, MP3, Ogg Vorbis, and other formats compatible with the libsndfile library. However, due to patent licensing restrictions, the FFmpeg library required for handling proprietary formats like M4A (AAC) and WMA is not included with Audacity and must be downloaded separately.

VLC is a free, open-source, and portable media player and streaming server created by the VideoLAN project. It supports desktop operating systems and mobile platforms, including Android, iOS, and iPadOS.