Linus Torvalds Reaffirms That Linux Is Not "Anti-AI" & Not A "Social Warrior" Project - Phoronix

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Linus Torvalds Reaffirms That Linux Is Not "Anti-AI" & Not A "Social Warrior" Project

Written by Michael Larabel in Linux Kernel on 15 July 2026 at 06:35 AM EDT. 53 Comments

Overnight Linux creator Linus Torvalds wrote another well crafted message that reaffirms the Linux kernel position of not being against AI and lashing back against some kernel developers that are against AI/LLM usage within the kernel project.

Linus Torvalds once again states that the Linux kernel is not "anti-AI" and that AI/LLMs should be viewed as just a tool for helping Linux kernel developers. Linux kernel development does not mandate the use of AI tooling but Torvalds is against those who argue against others wanting to use AI/LLM-based solutions.

Torvalds' comments follow recent recommendations from the Software Freedom Conservancy around AI/LLMs and Linux kernel developers discussing the Sashiko AI code review that has become more prolific in the kernel development community these past few months.

Torvalds wrote on the mailing list:<br>"[In response to a comment: It seems like [1] expresses a very anti-LLM position in general"]

Yes.

And no, that's not the position of the Linux kernel.

I realize that some people really dislike AI, but this is an area where I'm willing to absolutely put my foot down as the top-level maintainer.

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.

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.

There are other questions around AI (like what the economy of it will actually look like in the end), but "is it useful" is no longer one of those questions. Anybody who doubts that clearly hasn't actually used it.

Yes, it can also be a somewhat painful tool, both for maintainer workloads and just from a "it keeps finding embarrassing bugs" standpoint.

But 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.

The solution is to make sure those LLM tools _help_ maintainers instead of just causing them pain. There's no question on that side.

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.

And no, 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.

The kernel project has been and will continue to be about the technology.

Sure, the social angle of working on open source is important and often a very motivating part of the project, but in the end that's a side benefit, not the _point_ of the project.

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.

Linus"

Another great, thoughtful and verbose statement from Linus Torvalds on AI in the Linux kernel development space. AI is not going away from Linux kernel development but at the same time he's not mandating it be used by all kernel developers.

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Michael Larabel is the principal author of Phoronix.com and founded the site in 2004 with a focus on enriching the Linux hardware experience. Michael has written more than 20,000 articles covering the state of Linux hardware support, Linux performance, graphics drivers, and other topics. Michael is also the lead developer of the Phoronix Test Suite, Phoromatic, and OpenBenchmarking.org automated benchmarking software. He can be followed via Twitter, LinkedIn, or contacted via MichaelLarabel.com.

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