Re: Linking Patchwork with Sashiko? (message linux-media sur la position du kernel Linux vis-à-vis de l'IA)
Message from **Linus Torvalds** on the **linux-media** mailing list (thread "Linking Patchwork with Sashiko?", about an LLM tool for maintainer assistance), in which the creator and **top-level maintainer** of the Linux kernel **officially settles the project's position on AI**. Responding to Roman Gushchin, who pointed out that an adverse message expressed "a very anti-LLM in general" stance, Torvalds agrees ("Yes") and then **flatly denies that this is the kernel's position** ("And no, that's not the position of the Linux kernel"). He **puts his foot down** as the supreme maintainer: **"Linux is not one of those anti-AI projects"**; those who take issue with that can **"do the open source thing: fork it"** — "or just walk away". **Central thesis**: **"AI is a tool, like the other tools we use, and clearly a useful tool"**; that may not have been "so 'clearly' true a year ago, but it's not in question today". He distinguishes questions **still open** ("what the AI economy will actually look like in the end") from the question that is **settled** ("is it useful?") — "anybody who doubts that clearly hasn't actually tried it". He **concedes** that the tool can be **"painful"** — maintainer burden, and the fact that it "keeps finding embarrassing bugs" — but refuses the ostrich posture ("put your head in the sand going 'La La La, I can't hear you'"). **The right response**: make sure **LLM tools _help_ maintainers** rather than causing them pain. **Non-coercion, deliberately**: "nobody is forced to use it, but **I will very loudly ignore those who try to prevent others from using it**". On imperfection: "AI isn't perfect, but hell, anybody who points at its problems had better also point at the mirror" — "**natural intelligence isn't always all that great either**". **Governance framework**: the kernel project "has always been and will remain about **technology**"; the social angle of open source is a "side benefit, not the _point_"; **"this is *NOT* some kind of 'social warrior' project, never has been, never will be"**; "we do open source because it results in **better technology**, not for religious reasons". Program-conclusion: **"we decide based on technical merit first. Not on fear of new tools."** To be read as a **doctrinal position statement** from one of the most influential figures in software — echoing ESR's pro-LLM counter-testimony (another pillar of open source, [[raymond-llm-coding-empowering-2026-07-08]]).
Linus Torvalds (torvalds@linuxfoundation.org) — ingénieur logiciel finlando-américain · **créateur et mainteneur suprême du noyau Linux** (depuis 1991) et de **Git** (2005). Employé de la **Linux Foundation**. Figure centrale et notoirement franche de l'open source · dont la parole sur les mailing lists du kernel fait autorité et jurisprudence dans la communauté. S'exprime ici en sa qualité de **top-level maintainer** pour fixer la position officielle du projet vis-à-vis des outils d'IA. Autres participants au thread cités : Roman Gushchin (linux.dev) · Laurent Pinchart · Mauro Carvalho Chehab · Konstantin Ryabitsev (Linux Foundation) · Steven Rostedt · Stephen Finucane · Jason Gunthorpe · entre autres. (Message de mailing list linux-media ; date : 2026-07-14 ; date d'ajout à la veille : 2026-07-17.)