I’ve deleted Visual Studio Code. For a long time until just a few days ago, I had been using VS Code to write my articles and do a little coding. Probably most of you know that VS Code is a very well-designed text editor/IDE hybrid cross-platform application. In my opinion, VS Code is one of the best text editors for any operating system.
Yet, I deleted VS Code, and will no longer be using it. Instead, I am going back to some lighter editors and Vim for all of my editing and coding needs. Why did I delete it? I’ll give you this hint, a screenshot from the project’s homepage:
Basically, it’s because of Microsoft’s heavily involvement with artificial intelligence (AI). Even though AI is not built into VS Code, Microsoft is very invested in integrating AI into Visual Studio Code and with their platform Github. To this end, they have already developed extensions for VS Code so that users can use the editor with AI such as GitHub Copilot. It is for this reason that I already deleted my Github account a month or two ago. The bottom line is simply that I do not want to support AI development.
It is true that VS Code is a free product, and hence I am not paying Microsoft anything for it. Nevertheless, even using the product can promote it in indirect ways. For example, if someone asked me which text editor I use, my answer would help promote the product and Microsoft’s platform. Moreover, using and downloading extensions indicates the popularity of VS Code to Microsoft and thus encourages them to continue development because they reap collateral benefits from their development and from AI.
It is for these reasons that I no longer want to use their product. And, as more products incorporate AI, either through a feature or through their development, I will attempt to divest from them as well. I simply want no part in any effort that will encourage the development of artificial intelligence. Although it may be impossible to avoid AI entirely, I will certainly do my best to do so.
Thus from now on, I will no longer write my articles or do any coding in Visual Studio Code, and it has already been emptied from the trash.