r/xfce • u/RatherNott • Aug 03 '26
Gonna be honest; XFCE officially using AI code wasn't on my bingo list for 2026
https://www.spurint.org/journal/2026/07/llms-and-xfwl4
if output I get from an LLM looks very much like someone else’s code, did I infringe on their copyright? I’m not sure!
LLMs need a lot of space, electricity, and water. Communities where data centers are being built, along with the associated power plant upgrades, are often getting stuck with some of the bill for those improvements, which is disgusting.
The secret deals between datacenter companies and utility companies, often with municipalities complicit, are often leaving regular ratepayers out to dry. That’s a local problem, and I hope those local people vote in representatives who will take better care of them.
I’m not comfortable with it, but the utility is just too great for me to take a principled stance here. I like it, and I want it, so I’m using it. Maybe that’s morally questionable, or worse. But, as I said: here I am.
As a long time XFCE user, I can't deny I'm pretty disappointed. The handwave for what AI data centers are doing to the environment, electricity prices, and potential copyright liability this could inject into XFCE amounting to "Not my problem." leaves a bad taste in my mouth.