Linux creator Linus Torvalds has made his position on artificial intelligence in open-source development unequivocally clear, stating that he has no objection to developers using AI tools to contribute to the Linux kernel. He added that anyone who disagrees with this approach is free to "fork" the project or simply "walk away."
In a message posted on the official Linux kernel mailing list, Torvalds addressed the growing use of AI-assisted coding tools in Linux development. As the project's top-level maintainer, he said he would "absolutely put my foot down" on the issue.
Torvalds emphasised that Linux is "not one of those anti-AI projects." He stated, "If somebody has issues with that, they can do the open-source thing and fork it, or just walk away."
Linux is an open-source operating system developed through contributions from both paid engineers employed by companies such as Google, Intel and IBM, as well as a large global community of independent developers.
Because anyone can contribute to the project, the rise of AI-powered coding assistants such as Claude Code and Codex has led many developers to adopt AI-assisted programming, often referred to as "vibe coding."
From AI scepticism to acceptance
Torvalds' current position marks a notable shift from his earlier views on artificial intelligence.
In October 2024, he described nearly 90 per cent of AI as "marketing hype" and said he intended to largely ignore it while predicting that the technology would mature over the following five years.
Less than two years later, however, he now views AI as "just like any other tool."
Torvalds wrote that while this may not have been obvious even a year ago, it is "no longer in question today." He added, "Anybody who doubts that clearly hasn't actually used it."
AI is useful, but not without flaws
Despite his support for AI-assisted development, Torvalds acknowledged that AI-generated code presents its own set of challenges.
He noted that AI can be "a somewhat painful tool," both because it increases the workload for maintainers and because it often uncovers "embarrassing bugs."
Nevertheless, he argued that ignoring the technology is not a viable solution.
"The solution is not to put your head in the sand and sing 'La La La, I can't hear you' at the top of your voice like some people seem to do," he wrote.
Instead, Torvalds said the priority should be ensuring that large language model-based tools assist maintainers rather than create additional work.
"We're not forcing anybody to use it, but I will very loudly ignore people who try to argue against other people from using it," he said.
He reiterated that Linux continues to make decisions based primarily on technical merit rather than resistance to emerging technologies.
"We make decisions primarily based on technical merit. Not fear of new tools," he wrote.
AI should assist programmers, not replace them
Earlier this year, Torvalds described AI as "a great tool" and compared its impact on programming to the introduction of compilers, arguing that while AI is changing how software is written, it is not changing the fundamentals of programming.
However, he also criticised the idea of relying entirely on AI to write software.
"When I see people saying, 'Hey, 99 per cent of our code is written by AI,' I literally get angry," he said.
His views have also been echoed by senior Linux maintainer Greg Kroah-Hartman, who said earlier this year that AI-assisted bug reports and code reviews had improved significantly, with open-source projects increasingly receiving AI-generated reports that were both accurate and genuinely useful.
