This Week in Open Source #15

by Daryl Ducharme, Google Open Source

This Week in Open Source for February 20th, 2026

A look around the world of open source

We're preparing for a busy conference season, with events like SCALE 23x and KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe on the horizon. A core part of our mission is "learning and sharing what we learn" so that our communities can continue to thrive together. Conferences are a great place to fulfill that mission.

This week, we're highlighting a few "Open Source Reads" that tackle some of the biggest questions facing our ecosystem today—from the complex ethics of AI-generated content to the global impact of open AI models. We hope these links provide valuable context as we work together to sustain the critical infrastructure we all rely on.

Upcoming Events

  • February 24 - 25: The Linux Foundation Member Summit is happening in Napa, California. It is the annual gathering for Linux Foundation members that fosters collaboration, innovation, and partnerships among the leading projects and organizations working to drive digital transformation with open source technologies.
  • March 5 - 8: SCALE 23x is happening in Pasadena, California. It is North America's largest community-run open source conference and includes four days of sessions, workshops, and community activities focused on open source, security, DevOps, cloud native, and more.
  • March 9 - 10: FOSSASIA Summit 2026 is happening in Bangkok, Thailand. It will be a two-day hybrid event that showcases the latest in open technologies, fostering collaboration across enterprises, developers, educators, and communities.
  • March 16 - 17: FOSS Backstage is happening in Berlin, Germany. This conference brings together the brightest minds in the industry to discuss and explore all about FOSS community, management and compliance.
  • March 22: Maintainer Summit EU is happening just before CloudNativeCon in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. This is an exclusive event for the people behind our projects to gather face-to-face, collaborate, and celebrate cloud first projects.
  • March 23 - 26: Kubecon + CloudNativeCon Europe is happening in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. This is the flagship conference for the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) and brings together adopters and technologists from leading open source and cloud first communities.
  • March 26 - 29: ATmosphereConf is happening in Vancouver, British Columbia. This conference from the AT Protocol Community took a 2 day conference then booked the venue for the two days prior (March 26th & 27th) with smaller theaters and break out rooms for everything from extended events to developer training to building together.
  • April 7 - 8: PyTorch Conference EU is happening in Paris, France. Hosted by the PyTorch Foundation, this conference gathers top-tier AI pioneers, researchers, and developers to explore the future of AI.

Open Source Reads and Links

  • [Blog] An AI Agent wrote a hit piece on me - An AI agent wrote a harmful article about a maintainer after he rejected its code for a popular Python library. This shows a new risk where AI can attack people to get what it wants. We must be careful as AI misbehavior can hurt reputations and trust in software. This was followed by a part 2 after more things happened.
  • [Blog] Stop closing the door; fix the house - A different take on the crossover between AI and open source. Instead of closing contributions due to poor AI generated code, maintainers should guide contributors and AI tools with clear rules and automation. This helps keep quality high and keeps the community open.
  • [Article] Everyone uses open source, but patching moves too slowly - "Maintenance is the highest form of creation." Open source requires maintenance, especially when 60% of security incidents hit unpatched code. How can we work together to keep our communities healthy and secure?
  • [Paper] AI-powered open-source infrastructure for accelerating materials discovery and advanced manufacturing - Gen AI isn't the only type of AI in the game. This paper explains how AI and open-source tools help speed up the discovery of new materials. Through using data, simulations, and machine learning together we can build efficient and sustainable platforms.
  • [Blog] AI is destroying open source and it's not even good yet - Here's another post about how maintainers face more work and frustration because AI often makes mistakes and doesn't help fix problems. This growing issue could get worse as AI becomes more widely used without careful oversight. So, what types of conversations should we be having to create that oversight?
  • [Article] What's next for Chinese open source AI? - Chinese companies are creating and sharing powerful open AI models that anyone can use and modify. Because these models are cheaper and widely adopted globally, they challenge the western AI models. This open approach is changing how AI innovation happens and who controls its future.

Which of these stories will you be chatting about at your next meetup or conference? Let us know! Share with us on our @GoogleOSS X account or our @opensource.google Bluesky account.

Dev Channel Update for ChromeOS / ChromeOS Flex

The ChromeOS Dev channel is being updated to OS version 16581.13.0 (Browser version 146.0.7680.17) for most ChromeOS devices.

If you find new issues, please let us know one of the following ways:
  1. File a bug

  2. Visit our ChromeOS communities

    1. General: Chromebook Help Community

    2. Beta Specific: ChromeOS Beta Help Community

  3. Report an issue or send feedback on Chrome

  4. Interested in switching channels? Find out how.

Luis Menezes

Google ChromeOS

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – February 20, 2026

View Gemini feature usage and threshold reports in the Admin console

Today, we’re releasing new adoption and usage metrics to our Gemini reports in the Admin console. These new reports offer administrators comprehensive visibility into AI feature usage and thresholds to help them better manage their Workspace subscription and Gemini adoption. This includes usage data by features, apps, and active users. | Learn more about Gemini feature usage and threshold reports in the Admin console.

Improvements to local administrative access controls on Windows devices

We are updating the administrative privileges setting for Windows device management to give administrators more control over how local administrative access is handled on Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices, managed by Google Endpoint Management. This update simplifies settings and provides greater flexibility for organizations that need to preserve local admin access while managing specific users via Google Workspace. | Learn more about Improvements to local administrative access controls on Windows devices.

Forecast data in Connected Sheets using BigQuery ML and TimesFM

We are introducing a new capability in Connected Sheets for BigQuery that allows users to generate data forecasts directly within Google Sheets using the power of BigQuery ML (BQML) and Google’s state-of-the-art TimesFM model. | Learn more about Forecast data in Connected Sheets using BigQuery ML and TimesFM.

Create custom soundtracks with Lyria 3 in the Gemini app

Using text-based or image prompting, you can now generate custom 30 second soundtracks in Gemini. This new capability is powered by Lyria 3, Google’s most advanced music generation model yet. | Learn more about how to Create custom soundtracks with Lyria 3 in the Gemini app.

New user controls for Take notes for me

We are introducing more ways meeting hosts and participants can view and control “Take notes for me” in Google Meet. | Learn more about New user controls for Take notes for me.

New 'Take notes for me' configuration in the Admin console for select Gemini Alpha customers

To help users remember to get notes for meetings where it is most valuable, we are developing new settings for ‘Take notes for me’ that lets users and admins pre-configure AI note taking. | Learn more about New 'Take notes for me' configuration in the Admin console for select Gemini Alpha customers.

Educators can now get help drafting personalized guidance on written assignments with AI-suggested feedback in Google Classroom

We’re introducing AI-suggested feedback for written assignments in Google Classroom, a new feature designed to help educators provide high-quality, personalized support to their students more efficiently. | Learn more about how Educators can now get help drafting personalized guidance on written assignments with AI-suggested feedback in Google Classroom.

Manage permission to edit group details and changes to groups settings

We’re introducing a new permission in Google Groups: "Who can modify group details." This update allows group owners and managers to grant specific roles the ability to edit a group's name and description. | Learn more about to Manage permission to edit group details and changes to groups settings.

The announcements above were published on the Workspace Updates blog over the last week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.

Chrome Dev for Desktop Update

The Dev channel has been updated to 147.0.7695.0 for Windows, Mac and Linux.

A partial list of changes is available in the Git log. Interested in switching release channels? Find out how. If you find a new issue, please let us know by filing a bug. The community help forum is also a great place to reach out for help or learn about common issues.

Chrome Release Team
Google Chrome

Introducing the 185 Organizations for GSoC 2026

by Stephanie Taylor, Mary Radomile & Lucila Ortíz, Google Open Source

The complete list of Google Summer of Code (GSoC) Mentoring Organizations is now available! 2026 brings us 185 open source communities who are eager to mentor a new group of open source contributors. Now is the time for prospective contributors to start looking for a community to participate with. Visit the full list of 2026 organizations to learn about each community, their project ideas, and read the specific contributor guidance to apply.

Who can apply as a GSoC contributor?
If you are 18 or older and a student or just starting out in open source (less than 2 years of open source experience), GSoC is for you!

Why participate in Google Summer of Code?
GSoC offers a unique opportunity to gain real-world experience and build new skills through open source contributions while being mentored by experienced maintainers and developers.

The application period starts on March 16th at 1800 UTC. Here are some things you can do to get started:

  • Visit our GSoC website and read the FAQ, the Contributor Guide, Advice for people applying for GSoC, Program Rules and the videos for Potential GSoC Contributors to learn the basics about GSoC.
  • Browse the Organization pages—use filters (languages, categories) to narrow down your choices.
  • Look at the Project Ideas for the Orgs you like. Pick one that excites you and reach out to them ASAP to talk about it.
  • Heads up! Each Org has its own application steps and maybe some required pre-tasks. Check their Contributor guidance link in their profile. Chatting and contributing early is HUGE for getting accepted!
  • Write a proposal based on the organization guidelines, also remember that some orgs do not allow the use of AI, be aware of their guidelines.
  • We strongly recommend submitting your proposal on the GSoC site at least 3 days before the hard deadline March 31, 1800 UTC.

Mark your calendars with the upcoming important GSoC 2026 dates!

  • Contributor application period: March 16 - 31 1800 UTC
  • GSoC 2026 Accepted Contributors announced: April 30 1800 UTC
  • Coding Starts: May 25

Thank you for being part of this wonderful community and we wish the best of luck to all the 2026 applicants!

Introducing the 185 Organizations for GSoC 2026

by Stephanie Taylor, Mary Radomile & Lucila Ortíz, Google Open Source

The complete list of Google Summer of Code (GSoC) Mentoring Organizations is now available! 2026 brings us 185 open source communities who are eager to mentor a new group of open source contributors. Now is the time for prospective contributors to start looking for a community to participate with. Visit the full list of 2026 organizations to learn about each community, their project ideas, and read the specific contributor guidance to apply.

Who can apply as a GSoC contributor?
If you are 18 or older and a student or just starting out in open source (less than 2 years of open source experience), GSoC is for you!

Why participate in Google Summer of Code?
GSoC offers a unique opportunity to gain real-world experience and build new skills through open source contributions while being mentored by experienced maintainers and developers.

The application period starts on March 16th at 1800 UTC. Here are some things you can do to get started:

  • Visit our GSoC website and read the FAQ, the Contributor Guide, Advice for people applying for GSoC, Program Rules and the videos for Potential GSoC Contributors to learn the basics about GSoC.
  • Browse the Organization pages—use filters (languages, categories) to narrow down your choices.
  • Look at the Project Ideas for the Orgs you like. Pick one that excites you and reach out to them ASAP to talk about it.
  • Heads up! Each Org has its own application steps and maybe some required pre-tasks. Check their Contributor guidance link in their profile. Chatting and contributing early is HUGE for getting accepted!
  • Write a proposal based on the organization guidelines, also remember that some orgs do not allow the use of AI, be aware of their guidelines.
  • We strongly recommend submitting your proposal on the GSoC site at least 3 days before the hard deadline March 31, 1800 UTC.

Mark your calendars with the upcoming important GSoC 2026 dates!

  • Contributor application period: March 16 - 31 1800 UTC
  • GSoC 2026 Accepted Contributors announced: April 30 1800 UTC
  • Coding Starts: May 25

Thank you for being part of this wonderful community and we wish the best of luck to all the 2026 applicants!

Manage permission to edit group details and changes to groups settings

We’re introducing a new permission in Google Groups: "Who can modify group details." This update allows group owners and managers to grant specific roles the ability to edit a group's name and description.

Previously, the ability to edit a group’s name and description was limited to the owner and manager roles. This meant that if an owner wanted a member to be able to update the name or description, they had to grant that member manager status, which included a broader set of additional permissions.

With this launch, "Who can modify group details" is now a standalone, configurable permission. Group owners and managers can now precisely control who can update these details, choosing from owners, managers, or all members of the group.

Additionally, as part of this launch, all group members will be able to see the groups settings page, however the ability to edit it will continue to depend on the groups permissions and the users role.

The new setting: “Who can modify group details”

Getting started

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
  • End users: This feature will be set to “Group owners and managers” by default. Visit the Help Center to learn more.

Rollout pace

Availability

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google accounts

Resources