From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from ms.lwn.net (ms.lwn.net [45.79.88.28]) (using TLSv1.2 with cipher ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 (256/256 bits)) (No client certificate requested) by smtp.subspace.kernel.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 82D333B8D53 for ; Mon, 8 Dec 2025 04:31:26 +0000 (UTC) Authentication-Results: smtp.subspace.kernel.org; arc=none smtp.client-ip=45.79.88.28 ARC-Seal:i=1; a=rsa-sha256; d=subspace.kernel.org; s=arc-20240116; t=1765168288; cv=none; b=pqRXOLnXfPuuMzmmIfRlLYr+Gn751rj3xRgwyKh0fj/CbyvtOL3d+4fOoxTgqZptQtUcebPR8tX+zrZSUwZnypPtf4mgCMUGjCDjT1Ub+46bWn3uaDwAFbblTq5Nf0qs6qQig+SATDPEfN5/k4uWSQG3JlTlmeyf3VIOaYPblgo= ARC-Message-Signature:i=1; a=rsa-sha256; d=subspace.kernel.org; s=arc-20240116; t=1765168288; c=relaxed/simple; bh=1N6BBu2mpgVoqv1z0P+zp2AZJW2LJ7ycggn3hqeb8l8=; h=From:To:Cc:Subject:In-Reply-To:References:Date:Message-ID: MIME-Version:Content-Type; b=oMXD2rU2ohlhcSyqw/KyN8+w8ZA9ABfkFoxYcvXcQlvs3cYurG7P392IBkwRfpwMQz8po4eWHVv3ynEFR/iOlcdEMcEc2Qwjs9lp+ELkvg2wjQkNyFGMjZi5uvtxIbVJxruGyFvNke+NwRIRbt9ra8nv4AfmU1Y7Ov37NpnOkFM= ARC-Authentication-Results:i=1; smtp.subspace.kernel.org; dmarc=pass (p=none dis=none) header.from=lwn.net; spf=pass smtp.mailfrom=lwn.net; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=lwn.net header.i=@lwn.net header.b=DQURwknM; arc=none smtp.client-ip=45.79.88.28 Authentication-Results: smtp.subspace.kernel.org; dmarc=pass (p=none dis=none) header.from=lwn.net Authentication-Results: smtp.subspace.kernel.org; spf=pass smtp.mailfrom=lwn.net Authentication-Results: smtp.subspace.kernel.org; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=lwn.net header.i=@lwn.net header.b="DQURwknM" DKIM-Filter: OpenDKIM Filter v2.11.0 ms.lwn.net 13B364040B DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=lwn.net; s=20201203; t=1765168285; bh=urgYz/ejMQitc5NNMW5MHPmUtL/VVdcecmsTnc0fw3U=; h=From:To:Cc:Subject:In-Reply-To:References:Date:From; b=DQURwknMiu6mDoqwdEYM/SCkTrDEnK5IKpyd2aEJ5d9QbwyEtDNqyJY7hQAeS4OQU 9ixgspMSRAzAmsyYq3JWsQwSyJMIx09FBsD04nFknlJX4EwhsB1G85+KFZOapBE0Xl XKeJGIMIb2jDhnPdiPVRwLP1hRrrXGW6kWDoeWxZ32RKkWr5XDpU7VSgH5z9pXzQDP ymgTnogsq4t+OLlRGBXtjrfn/V+HuMq8OX9UX7Vb6ngi2CeOUh9MV6Cj0GQNG+gqzZ 2Cu9JSY04Gsq/lL8pymdH2VHV8hYk07PW0iv1zIUSXx9AWZdwve4JcfXw4VM6jJuWg GDFq8jgWEnplg== Received: from localhost (mdns.lwn.net [45.79.72.68]) (using TLSv1.3 with cipher TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 (256/256 bits) key-exchange ECDHE (prime256v1) server-signature RSA-PSS (2048 bits) server-digest SHA256) (No client certificate requested) by ms.lwn.net (Postfix) with ESMTPSA id 13B364040B; Mon, 8 Dec 2025 04:31:24 +0000 (UTC) From: Jonathan Corbet To: Laurent Pinchart , Sasha Levin Cc: ksummit@lists.linux.dev Subject: Re: [MAINTAINERS SUMMIT] The role of AI and LLMs in the kernel process In-Reply-To: <20251208041507.GB30348@pendragon.ideasonboard.com> References: <20251208041507.GB30348@pendragon.ideasonboard.com> Date: Sun, 07 Dec 2025 21:31:22 -0700 Message-ID: <87qzt5fvc5.fsf@trenco.lwn.net> Precedence: bulk X-Mailing-List: ksummit@lists.linux.dev List-Id: List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Laurent Pinchart writes: > This is a pretty good summary. It's missing one point in my opinion, > partly related to the legal stance: the ethical stance. > > The Linux kernel is governed by the GPL. There are contributors who care > about the copyleft aspect of the license. Even if the legal issues get > cleared in the future, not everybody will agree that usage of GPL code > as input to create proprietary LLMs is ethical: Somebody needs to say this: that is an important ethical question, but it is far from the only one: - The creation of these LLM systems imposes significant costs on anybody trying to run any sort of open resource on the Internet. I have ranted at length about this... Konstantin has been rather more restrained, but the effects of this industry on kernel.org have been significant and expensive. Using these systems makes us a part of the problem. - Before generating code in this way, we should think about the jet-engine turbines now powering data centers. We work on Linux to create a better world; wrecking its climate is not conducive to that goal. - The BitKeeper experience showed us what can happen when we make our processes dependent on proprietary software. We should not forget that lesson regardless of how shiny the new toys look. I'll stop now :) jon