Linus Torvalds Says AI‑Opposing Contributors Can Just Quit or Fork the Kernel

On July 14, Linux’s lead maintainer Linus Torvalds responded to growing anti‑AI sentiment in the kernel community, stating that Linux is not a "anti‑artificial‑intelligence" project. He told contributors who dislike AI to either fork the kernel or simply quit, underscoring that participation is voluntary.

Torvalds described AI as "just another tool we use," noting that it has become an undeniably useful instrument for developers. He argued that critics who doubt AI’s value likely have not used it themselves.

"Any person who doubts AI clearly hasn’t actually used it," Torvalds wrote in the kernel mailing list archive (lore.kernel.org).

He acknowledged that AI can be a "tricky tool" that may increase maintainer workload or surface embarrassing bugs, but rejected the idea of ignoring the technology. Instead, he advocated for ensuring large‑language‑model (LLM) tools assist maintainers rather than create unnecessary pain.

Torvalds also highlighted recent improvements: AI‑assisted error reports and code reviews have become noticeably better, producing high‑quality, real‑world reports that benefit open‑source projects.

According to Torvalds, the kernel project remains driven by technical merit, not ideological or “religious” reasons. Decisions are made based on technical advantages, and the community’s social aspects are merely a secondary benefit.

He concluded that while AI is imperfect, dismissing it outright is unproductive; both natural and artificial intelligence have flaws, and the community should focus on making AI tools genuinely helpful.