Linus Torvalds commented on the attempts to discuss banning the use of AI tools in the development of the Linux kernel. The official position is that the Linux kernel, as a project, is not against the use of AI. AI is viewed as a tool that simplifies coding tasks, just like any other tools. The use of AI is a personal choice for each developer, and the factor in accepting changes is the quality of the code, not the tools used to create that code.
For those dissatisfied with this policy or attempting to impose a ban on using AI tools on others, Linus recommended creating their own fork of the kernel or discontinuing participation in the development. According to Linus, a year ago, the use of AI in development could raise questions, but now the benefits of AI have become obvious, and only those who have not used modern AI tools could deny this. No one in the kernel development community forces others to use AI, but attempts to prevent others from using AI will be curtailed.
The application of AI can cause issues, such as increasing the burden on maintainers and uncovering unpleasant bugs, but according to Linus, the focus should be on making AI tools, like Sashiko, assist maintainers rather than burying oneās head in the sand. Modern AI reports often surpass traditional tools, such as checkpatch, in quality and flexibility, and they catch non-trivial bugs.
The Linux kernel remains a technical project, and the decisions related to it are made based on technical merits, not fear of the new. The kernel is not a project for social justice warriors, never has been, and never will be. The social aspect of working on open source is seen as an important and motivating part of the project, but it is more of a side effect rather than the goal of the project's existence. The kernel evolves as an open project not for religious reasons, but because this model leads to the creation of better technologies.
In the continuation of the discussion, Linus advised against imposing one's ethical standards on others, comparing the use of AI to vegetarianismāamong kernel developers, there are vegetarians with various reasons for not eating meat (social, religious, ethical, taste), but they do not expect all other developers to become vegetarians because of their personal stance. The same applies to the adoption of AI.
To those opposing AI who attempt to reference ethics, Linus recommended keeping their ethics where it belongsāin personal lifeāand not trying to impose it on others. Developing the topic of ethics, Linus also mentioned the relationship between the kernel developer community and the Free Software Foundation, which also has ethical arguments and uses them as a weapon. This is why Linux is not GNU/Linux, and the kernel developer community prefers to use the term 'Open Source' rather than 'Free Software.'
Source: opennet.ru
