Linus Torvalds tells Linux AI critics: Fork it or walk away
▼ Summary
– Linus Torvalds stated he will “absolutely put my foot down” to support AI tools in the Linux kernel, rejecting anti-AI absolutists.
– Torvalds declared that Linux is not an anti-AI project, and those who disagree can fork it or walk away.
– The debate centered on Sashiko, an AI code review system that finds 53.6% of bugs independently but has a false positive rate within the 20% range.
– One poster cited the Software Freedom Conservancy’s call to support those who reject LLM-generated code in open source projects.
– Torvalds said he will ignore people who argue against others using LLM tools, but won’t force anyone to use them.
The integration of AI-powered coding tools into software development has sparked fierce debate, with some developers embracing the technology while others refuse to allow any LLM-generated code near their projects. For the Linux kernel, however, creator and lead maintainer Linus Torvalds has made his position unmistakably clear. He is prepared to “absolutely put my foot down” in favor of using AI tools to enhance the legendary open-source project.
In a detailed post on the Linux kernel mailing list this week, Torvalds stated bluntly that “Linux is not one of those anti-AI projects, and if somebody has issues with that, they can do the open-source thing and fork it. Or just walk away.” The remark came during an extended discussion about Sashiko, an “agentic Linux kernel code review system” that its developers claim can independently identify 53.6 percent of bugs that human coders would later fix. Yet the tool also risks overwhelming maintainers with false positives, sending erroneous bug reports at a rate its creators estimate falls “well within [the] 20% range.”
As the conversation unfolded, one participant cited the Software Freedom Conservancy’s recent stance that the open-source community “should support, not just tolerate, those who outright reject LLM-gen-AI systems” and that “every FOSS contributor deserves self-determination regarding LLM-gen-AI.” Torvalds responded by rejecting any demand that open-source projects bar LLM-generated code or revisions. “We’re not forcing anybody to use [LLM tools], but I will very loudly ignore people who try to argue against other people from using it,” he said.
(Source: Ars Technica)
