Torvalds sees AI coding as useful, but risky for small projects
Linus Torvalds strongly rejects the idea that AI should be described as writing nearly all of someone’s code. In his view, are tools, much like a compiler. A compiler made programming far faster, but people do not say the compiler wrote their code, so AI should not be described in a way that removes human responsibility and judgment.
He is not against AI and appears to use and understand it. The reportedly saw a 20% rise in submissions during this release cycle because of AI tools. The downside is hitting small open source projects.
are increasing, and some people disappear when ask for more details or a patch, leaving one- or two-person projects with extra work and more burnout risk.
Key points
- are framed as tools, not as the real owner of the work.
- The compiler comparison is about responsibility: tools help, but people still write and own the code.
- The reportedly had 20% more submissions in this release cycle because of AI tools.
- Small open source projects are getting more low-effort .
- A useful bug report should include enough detail to reproduce the problem and should not be abandoned when ask questions.