Linus Torvalds on Rust in the Linux Kernel, Embracing New Releases, and Skepticism About AI

During a wide‑ranging conversation at the Linux Foundation Open Source Summit China, Linus Torvalds and Verizon open‑source program office head Dirk Hohndel examined the current state and future direction of the Linux kernel.

Torvalds announced that the extensible scheduler sched_ext, intended for building scheduling policies with eBPF, will not land in the next kernel but is hoped for in the upcoming 6.12 release.

When asked about the long‑term roadmap, Torvalds admitted uncertainty about when kernel 8.7 might appear, emphasizing his focus on short‑term work: "The real development is getting all the details right, not looking five years ahead. I only look at one or two releases at a time."

He highlighted the approaching 20‑year anniversary of the real‑time Linux project and noted that while most of the work is finished, a few final tweaks remain before full upstream integration.

Torvalds also reminded listeners that, despite Linux being 33 years old, fundamental problems such as memory‑management bugs are still being addressed.

The kernel development process has become highly structured and rhythmic, with a goal of a nine‑week release cycle, though historically it was far less regular. Early attempts at a six‑week cadence were initially mocked.

Regarding security, Hohndel listed numerous CVEs in the kernel, and Torvalds stressed that vulnerabilities arise whenever clever actors find ways to exploit code. He warned against treating security as a uniquely special issue, as that mindset can ultimately harm everyone.

Greg Kroah‑Hartman, maintainer of the stable kernel, advised continuously updating to the latest stable release. Torvalds agreed, noting that staying on very old kernels can lead to missed critical fixes and painful migration later.

He specifically urged Chinese embedded‑Linux vendors still on kernel 4.9 to stop clinging to it, as long‑term support becomes untenable.

On the topic of Rust, Torvalds expressed disappointment with the slow adoption rate, attributing resistance to senior kernel developers' deep familiarity with C and reluctance to learn a language that differs significantly in many aspects.

He added that while he sees the usefulness of Rust, he does not consider clusters, cloud, or Kubernetes to be his problem, noting that open source allows people to focus on what interests them.

Switching to artificial intelligence, Torvalds remained skeptical of the current hype but hoped AI tools might eventually aid code review and bug detection. He also remarked that AI’s rise has led Nvidia to become more involved in kernel development, shifting from his "bad‑company" list to a "good‑company" list.

Hohndel concluded by sharing that he used ChatGPT to generate ten questions for Torvalds, the first being about the future of open‑source software amid the rise of cloud services and proprietary offerings.

Torvalds sighed, stating, "I have no vision, and I don’t want a vision. I see myself as a practical engineer," before the interview ended to applause.