Linux creator Linus Torvalds has once again drawn a firm line: the Linux kernel is not an anti-AI project, and he’s willing to “put my foot down as the top-level maintainer” to defend developers who want to use AI tools. His overnight message pushes back hard against kernel contributors campaigning against LLM usage in the project.
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What Prompted It
Torvalds’ comments follow recent Software Freedom Conservancy recommendations on AI/LLMs for kernel developers, plus growing debate over the Sashiko AI code-review tooling that has spread through the kernel community in recent months. Responding to a message he read as staking out “a very anti-LLM position in general,” Torvalds made clear that stance is not the position of the Linux kernel.
Torvalds in His Own Words
His core argument is that AI is simply a tool — and a useful one:
“AI is a tool, just like other tools we use. And it’s clearly a useful one. It may not have been that ‘clearly’ even just a year ago, but it’s no longer in question today… Anybody who doubts that clearly hasn’t actually used it.”
He’s blunt about developers who reject it outright:
“Linux is not one of those anti-AI projects, and if somebody has issues with that, they can do the open-source thing and fork it. Or just walk away.”
Crucially, he’s not mandating AI — but he won’t tolerate people blocking others from using it:
“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 also acknowledges AI’s flaws while refusing to let them become an excuse:
“AI isn’t perfect. But Christ, anybody who points to the problems at AI had better be looking in the mirror and pointing at themselves at the same time. Because it’s not like natural intelligence is always all that great either.”
See also: Mastering the Linux Command Line — Your Complete Free Training Guide
Technology Over Ideology
The most pointed part of the message reframes what the kernel project is about. Yes, the social side of open source matters and motivates people — but Torvalds insists it’s a side benefit, not the point:
“This is NOT some kind of ‘social warrior’ project, never has been, and never will be. In the kernel community we do open source because it results in better technology, not because of religious reasons. And so we make decisions primarily based on technical merit. Not fear of new tools.”
Our take
Torvalds isn’t cheerleading for AI or forcing it on anyone — he’s insisting the kernel judge it the way it judges every tool: on technical merit, not ideology or fear. AI can be painful (heavy maintainer workloads, “embarrassing bugs”), but the answer is to make LLM tooling help maintainers, not to stick your head in the sand. For a project as scrutinized as Linux, that’s a clear signal that AI-assisted contributions are here to stay — on the kernel’s own pragmatic terms.
