# April 4th edition

*OSS, AI, and products*

By [Into the Void](https://paragraph.com/@intothevoid) · 2024-04-04

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The flawed yet advantageous nature of open source software, plus how to reason through what’s happening with AI today, sans hype.

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[How one volunteer stopped a backdoor from exposing Linux systems worldwide](https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/2/24119342/xz-utils-linux-backdoor-attempt)

The Verge summarizes what happened with the XZ backdoor, which almost compromised widely used Linux distributions. The vulnerability showcases both the downsides and upsides of open source software. While bad actors can manipulate the system, they are trying to manipulate it with the entire developer ecosystem watching them. In this case, a Microsoft developer saved the day.

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[An Interview with Benedict Evans About Regulation and AI](https://open.spotify.com/episode/6KpgrVqJ9iGCjvxzAniACj?si=f9357f7bb06241c3)

(_PAYWALL_) Ben Thompson and Benedict Evans, two of the most level-headed tech analysts, talk about regulation and AI. Evans provides an interesting non-US perspective highlighting fundamental differences in how the industry deals with new legislation. The AI portion of this conversation also provides a refreshing view of the state of AI, which basically boils down to “generative AI is cool and probably the future, but we haven’t quite worked out what specifically this looks like and how we get there.”

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[Why Chatbots Are Not The Future](https://wattenberger.com/thoughts/boo-chatbots)

With all the AI hype, I’ve revisited this article (authored by a GitHub research engineer) a few times. I came across this post over a year ago, and I’d argue not much has changed. It’s impressive technology, but it needs to fit inside a product aimed at solving a specific problem to reach its full potential. 

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Happy venturing,

Jake

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*Originally published on [Into the Void](https://paragraph.com/@intothevoid/april-4-edition)*