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Six Linux Distros That Will Keep AI Out, According to ZDNet

ZDNet's Jack Wallen highlights six Linux distributions that are unlikely to ever include preinstalled AI, citing their developers' ethos and technical principles.

AI News Feed · 2026-08-21 12:45

Wallen notes that while Microsoft and Apple are embedding their respective AI technologies into the cores of their operating systems, and some Linux distributions such as Omarchy have followed suit, not every Linux distribution plans to add AI. For Debian, the issue partly concerns the openness of language models. Debian developers have stated that "AI models released under DFSG-compatible license without original training data or program are not seen as DFSG-compliant." DFSG stands for Debian Free Software Guidelines. Because of this stance, Wallen sees no point at which Debian will include AI with the OS. Since Debian is the "mother of distributions," many other distributions built on it, including Ubuntu, will not have to deal with preinstalled AI.

Void Linux and MXLinux also appear unlikely to ship with AI. Void Linux is a DIY distribution that starts with only the basics and leaves the rest to the user, making AI alien to its ethos. MXLinux, based on AntiX, is designed for older, slower hardware, which alone ensures it will not include locally installed AI. Wallen notes that MXLinux's blog posts and announcements have never mentioned preinstalled artificial intelligence.

Arch Linux takes security very seriously, and the inclusion of AI could compromise that, especially given how LLMs have recently shown the ability to escape guardrails with ease. Slackware, dedicated to being "the most UNIX-like Linux distro available," is considered highly unlikely to ever include AI. AerynOS developers have issued a statement saying, "AerynOS takes a default position that we do not accept the use of LLMs in/around AerynOS," citing ethical concerns about data gathering, disproportionate use of electricity and water, potential negative influence, and potential copyright violations.

Wallen also points out that just because an OS refuses to ship or use AI, users can still install it themselves, and that not every one of these distro developers has made public statements about excluding AI, but their foundations and ethos stand against it.