Linus Torvalds backs AI in Linux, warns critics to fork or leave

In an email to the Linux kernel mailing list, Linus Torvalds delivered a forceful defense of AI tool adoption in kernel development. "Linux is not one of those anti-AI projects," he wrote, and made clear he would "absolutely put my foot down as the top-level maintainer" on this point. He offered a stark choice to dissenters: "can do the open-source thing and fork it. Or just walk away."

The catalyst for his statement was Sashiko, a code review system developed by the Linux Foundation. Sashiko uses prompts tailored to the kernel and its own protocol to automatically review proposed code changes submitted to the project. The tool can import patches directly from mailing lists or local Git repositories and integrates with multiple LLM providers. Developer Roman Gushchin had raised concerns about a "very anti-LLM position in general" undermining Sashiko's core purpose: reducing the workload on maintainers who manually review and approve code.

Torvalds acknowledged the anti-LLM sentiment within the community but rejected it as policy. He noted that AI is "clearly a useful one," even though its benefits were less obvious a year ago. "Anybody who doubts that clearly hasn't actually used it," he wrote. He did not minimize AI's drawbacks—it can be "painful," create extra work for maintainers, or surface "embarrassing bugs"—but he refused the response of denial. "The answer isn't to 'put your head in the sand and sing La La La, I can't hear you' at the top of your voice." He compared AI to human intelligence, noting that neither is perfect and that no one is forced to use it. His stance: he will "very loudly ignore" people who campaign against others using AI tools. The kernel project, he insisted, makes decisions on technical merit, "not fear of new tools."

For teams interested in testing Sashiko, Torvalds pointed developers to a GitHub-hosted guide for kernel maintainers on working with the system, signaling that adoption is expected to move forward.

The Linux kernel community has historically been pragmatic about adopting new tools based on their technical contribution rather than ideological purity. Torvalds' statement reflects that culture while directly rejecting a faction—not merely individuals but a broader "anti-LLM stance" he acknowledges exists within some people involved in the project—that sees AI as fundamentally problematic. His framing is notable: he does not deny that AI tools create friction ("painful," "extra work," "embarrassing bugs") but argues that imperfection is not unique to AI and that the solution is not rejection but evaluation on merit. The Sashiko case illustrates why this matters in practice. A code review system that reduces maintainer burden addresses a real constraint in open-source development, where the bottleneck is often human review capacity, not tooling. By positioning himself to "very loudly ignore" ideological objections while keeping the door open to technical critique, Torvalds is steering the project toward pragmatic integration of AI rather than either uncritical adoption or blanket rejection.

No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!