Seager explained in this morning's update while there won't be a "global kill switch" for AI features on Ubuntu, their plan is to deliver all the AI features via Snap packages. So removing AI features on Ubuntu will come down to removing Snaps.

IMHO opt-in means the snaps wouldn't even be on the system unless you had already opted in, but I was never going to use Ubuntu anyways so what does it matter.

What a coincidence. Snaps being garbage is the reason I quit using Ubuntu.

If I remove a snap and install a deb package, I should not have to do multiple workarounds to stop it from being replaced with the snap package automatically. The firefox snap doesn't work with a bunch of shit at all.

This means no AI on base Mint [Insert happy kids stock sound here]!

So the kill switch is just the stand way to clean up Ubuntu? Nice!

at some point Ubuntu was the most popular distribution. and the fastest growing one.

what's the most popular one now?

Burying the lede:

Lastly, the VP of Engineering did clarify that they will be shipping code in Ubuntu that is co-authored by AI.

"Regarding whether or not we should ship code that was co-authored by an AI - in reality we will be doing this. Even foundational projects in the ecosystem like the Kernel itself now have policies around how to govern this, and will accept tasteful, correct contributions that have been authored with AI."

I never found Ubuntu stable enough to use. Not when it came out, and certainly not today.

Always on the avoid list. They just keep making decisions that keep it that way.

So now Ubuntu is the OS where "advanced users can just turn all that crap off".

Good luck with that