Linus Torvalds says Linux will not ban AI coding tools

In short: Linus Torvalds said the Linux project will allow AI coding tools, and people who want a ban can fork Linux or leave.

What happened

Linus Torvalds, the creator and lead maintainer of the Linux kernel, wrote on the Linux kernel mailing list that Linux is not an “anti-AI” project. He said he will “very loudly ignore” people who argue that others should not use AI tools.

This came up during an argument about Sashiko, an AI-based code review tool. Code review is when changes to software are checked before they are accepted, like an editor checking a draft. Sashiko’s creators say it can find about 53.6 percent of the bugs that later get fixed by humans, but it can also send false alarms, which they estimate are within about 20 percent.

Some developers worry that tools like this could flood maintainers with automated emails about possible problems, including reports that turn out to be wrong. One person pointed to a recent statement from the Software Freedom Conservancy, which says open source contributors should be supported if they reject code made by large language models, meaning AI systems trained on huge amounts of text.

Torvalds pushed back. He said nobody is forced to use these tools, but he will not accept attempts to stop others from using them.

Why it matters

Linux is used in many places people rely on every day, including websites, phones, and company systems. Torvalds’s stance suggests Linux will judge AI-assisted contributions based on whether they are useful and correct, not on whether AI was involved. The practical question now is how Linux maintainers handle extra noise from automated bug reports while still getting the benefits of faster problem spotting.

Source: Arstechnica