As the Linux community debates LLM-generated content rules, Linus Torvalds says he "really likes using AI"

Summary

• AI is a wonderful tool if used correctly and makes programming more enjoyable, says Linus.
• He warns to be careful using LLMs for serious work, but it makes for a great tool for personal and fun projects.
• He uses AI to fill gaps-converts ideas across languages and aids tasks he's weak at.

There's a big debate going on within the open-source community regarding whether AI-generated content is allowed within projects. Some maintainers have banned the use of AI, some have allowed it with strict rules about its usage, and some have banned it, then re-allowed it again at a later date.

While the open-source community draws its lines in the sand and gets into some fierce debates, Linus Torvalds has been using AI to aid his Linux development. In a recent interview, he explained what he enjoys about AI coding and how he uses it in his work and play.

AI is a wonderful tool "if you use it correctly," says Linus

His words echo the exact guidelines that many pro-AI projects have adopted

As spotted by ZDNet, Linus Torvalds spoke with Dirk Hohndel at the most recent Open Source Summit Europe event. The topic of AI came up, and Torvalds took the time to explain his stance on AI and how it can help and harm a programmer.

Torvalds' stance on AI tools is very similar to what pro-AI distros and software claim is a good use of AI. While you can type in a prompt and churn out an app in minutes, Torvalds stresses that people need to be "very careful" when using LLMs to create anything more important than a fun coding venture or a prototype:

“I used to think it was just not very good — but now I’m at the point where I actually really like using AI. To be fair, I don’t do a lot of kernel programming. I’m a maintainer. The Linux kernel is a project where other people do the real work, and I act as the collection point. But I still enjoy programming immensely. I think AI is a wonderful tool if you use it correctly and treat it as a tool, and I find it makes programming much more enjoyable.”

Torvalds says that when he began coding in 1981, processes were a lot simpler and you could see the effect your code had on the system. In comparison, modern-day software has grown into huge, polished products, to the point where it's "hard to see your own small efforts as worth anything." As such, new programmers using the technology to vibe code apps is a "wonderful way to find joy in programming."

Torvalds rounds off his statements by saying he uses AI for things he's bad at. One use case is when he was coding a guitar pedal in C, and while he did get something running, he didn't like how it "\[looked\] like something from the ’80s." He then used AI to drum up something in Java (because, in his words, "I don’t do Java. I do kernels"), and while he admits the result was pretty ugly, he could see that what the AI made was essentially what he did in C but in Java.