Linus Torvalds: Stop making an issue out of AI slop in kernel docs – you're not changing anybody's mind
(2026/01/08)
- Reference: 1767896921
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/01/08/linus_versus_llms_ai_slop_docs/
- Source link:
Today, it is hard to escape LLM bots and the endless slop they emit, but the Linux kernel might be largely safe … for now.
Linus Torvalds has spoken up on the contentious topic of LLM-assisted software development. Despite his previous guardedly positive stance, for now, he seems to have come out strongly against it in the context he cares about the most – developing code for the Linux kernel. But he also doesn't want the documentation to become a political battlefield over this point.
He was responding to a [1]message from Oracle-affiliated kernel developer [2]Lorenzo Stokes , which seems to us to be guardedly anti-LLM: "Thinking LLMs are 'just another tool' is to say effectively that the kernel is immune from this. Which seems to me a silly position."
[3]
Torvalds replied:
No. Your position is the silly one.
There is zero point in talking about AI slop. That's just plain stupid.
Why? Because the AI slop people aren't going to document their patches as such. That's such an obvious truism that I don't understand why anybody even brings up AI slop.
So stop this idiocy.
The documentation is for good actors, and pretending anything else is pointless posturing.
As I said in private elsewhere, I do not want any kernel development documentation to be some AI statement. We have enough people on both sides of the "sky is falling" and "it's going to revolutionize software engineering", I don't want some kernel development docs to take either stance.
It's why I strongly want this to be that "just a tool" statement.
And the AI slop issue is NOT going to be solved with documentation, and anybody who thinks it is either just naive, or wants to "make a statement".
Neither of which is a good reason for documentation.
Rather than try to paraphrase the great man, we thought we'd just give you his own words. However, we do also face the slight issue that it's not entirely clear to us what Torvalds's position here really is.
Stokes was replying to an [4]email from [5]Dave Hansen . As Linux benchmark and commentary site [6]Phoronix reported in November , a team is working on a set of clear, unambiguous guidelines concerning LLM-bot-assisted contributions to the kernel.
[7]
[8]
It's a pressing issue. People are already using LLM coding assistants to work on kernel code: for instance, last year, Wikimedia developer Dmitry Brant blogged about [9]Using Claude Code to modernize a 25-year-old kernel driver .
The Register has reported on Torvalds's various comments on LLM-bot-assisted coding several times in recent years. In 2024, he said that [10]90 percent of AI marketing is hype . (To be honest, the Reg FOSS desk thinks that's generous: we'd be happy to learn it was as low as 90 per cent.) A year later, he commented that he was [11]OK with vibe coding as long as it's not used for anything that matters , which was a little unexpected. The Reg 's own Rupert Goodwins begged to differ, writing [12]"Vibe coding: What is it good for? Absolutely nothing (Sorry, Linus)" .
[13]What the Linux desktop really needs to challenge Windows
[14]What if Linux ran Windows… and meant it? Meet Loss32
[15]GNOME dev gives fans of Linux's middle-click paste the middle finger
[16]Finally - a terminal solution to the browser wars
For now, LLM coding assistants are so popular with so many that Torvalds is right: if the kernel flatly prohibits their use, then they'll get used anyway. They can and do emit code-like text, and lots of it, and currently they're cheap. Ban them, and they'll still be used – the users will just deny it.
Of course, they might not remain cheap. This vulture strongly suspects that another AI winter is coming. The [17]first one was circa 1984 , and the second about a decade later, with the end of the Fifth Generation Computer Systems project sponsored by Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). Now, all that is left of the FGCS is a [18]web museum .
[19]
We suspect that the third and biggest AI winter is imminent. [20]Some analysts think so too , while others feel that [21]what's left behind will remain valuable . Right now, the "generative AI" industry is [22]spending vast amounts to subsidize these models and their use, [23]propping up the US economy in the hope of future trillion-dollar-scale profitability. If that doesn't happen and the industry collapses, the coding-assistant advocates may suddenly find that plain old human brainpower is much cheaper than [24]hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of datacentres .
Some large model prices are [25]already increasing sharply . Put another few zeros on the end of the pricing and we suspect people may get much less keen on using them. This may yet prove to be a self-correcting issue, given a few years. ®
Get our [26]Tech Resources
[1] https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/1c74353c-40de-4d0b-a517-92a94f8b4af8@lucifer.local/
[2] https://ljs.io/kernel
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aWA3Df2A38S0UGJNH_lMWwAAA0E&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/93aadf2b-0df4-49eb-91fd-b401b44ce3af@sr71.net/
[5] https://sr71.net/
[6] https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-Kernel-AI-Guidelines-v3
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aWA3Df2A38S0UGJNH_lMWwAAA0E&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aWA3Df2A38S0UGJNH_lMWwAAA0E&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://dmitrybrant.com/2025/09/07/using-claude-code-to-modernize-a-25-year-old-kernel-driver
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/29/linus_torvalds_ai_hype/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/18/linus_torvalds_vibe_coding/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/24/opinion_column_vibe_coding/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/22/what_linux_desktop_really_needs/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/06/loss32_crazy_or_inspired/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/07/gnome_middle_click_paste/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/02/brow6el_browser_terminal/
[17] https://www.historyofdatascience.com/ai-winter-the-highs-and-lows-of-artificial-intelligence/
[18] https://www.ueda.info.waseda.ac.jp/AITEC_ICOT_ARCHIVES/ICOT/HomePage.html
[19] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aWA3Df2A38S0UGJNH_lMWwAAA0E&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/28/forrester_ai_spending/
[21] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/30/how_nvidia_survives_ai_bubble_pop/
[22] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/22/ai_hyperscale_capex_research/
[23] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/24/ai_investment_us_recession/
[24] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/14/datacenter_investment/
[25] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/15/augment_pricing_model/
[26] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Linus Torvalds has spoken up on the contentious topic of LLM-assisted software development. Despite his previous guardedly positive stance, for now, he seems to have come out strongly against it in the context he cares about the most – developing code for the Linux kernel. But he also doesn't want the documentation to become a political battlefield over this point.
He was responding to a [1]message from Oracle-affiliated kernel developer [2]Lorenzo Stokes , which seems to us to be guardedly anti-LLM: "Thinking LLMs are 'just another tool' is to say effectively that the kernel is immune from this. Which seems to me a silly position."
[3]
Torvalds replied:
No. Your position is the silly one.
There is zero point in talking about AI slop. That's just plain stupid.
Why? Because the AI slop people aren't going to document their patches as such. That's such an obvious truism that I don't understand why anybody even brings up AI slop.
So stop this idiocy.
The documentation is for good actors, and pretending anything else is pointless posturing.
As I said in private elsewhere, I do not want any kernel development documentation to be some AI statement. We have enough people on both sides of the "sky is falling" and "it's going to revolutionize software engineering", I don't want some kernel development docs to take either stance.
It's why I strongly want this to be that "just a tool" statement.
And the AI slop issue is NOT going to be solved with documentation, and anybody who thinks it is either just naive, or wants to "make a statement".
Neither of which is a good reason for documentation.
Rather than try to paraphrase the great man, we thought we'd just give you his own words. However, we do also face the slight issue that it's not entirely clear to us what Torvalds's position here really is.
Stokes was replying to an [4]email from [5]Dave Hansen . As Linux benchmark and commentary site [6]Phoronix reported in November , a team is working on a set of clear, unambiguous guidelines concerning LLM-bot-assisted contributions to the kernel.
[7]
[8]
It's a pressing issue. People are already using LLM coding assistants to work on kernel code: for instance, last year, Wikimedia developer Dmitry Brant blogged about [9]Using Claude Code to modernize a 25-year-old kernel driver .
The Register has reported on Torvalds's various comments on LLM-bot-assisted coding several times in recent years. In 2024, he said that [10]90 percent of AI marketing is hype . (To be honest, the Reg FOSS desk thinks that's generous: we'd be happy to learn it was as low as 90 per cent.) A year later, he commented that he was [11]OK with vibe coding as long as it's not used for anything that matters , which was a little unexpected. The Reg 's own Rupert Goodwins begged to differ, writing [12]"Vibe coding: What is it good for? Absolutely nothing (Sorry, Linus)" .
[13]What the Linux desktop really needs to challenge Windows
[14]What if Linux ran Windows… and meant it? Meet Loss32
[15]GNOME dev gives fans of Linux's middle-click paste the middle finger
[16]Finally - a terminal solution to the browser wars
For now, LLM coding assistants are so popular with so many that Torvalds is right: if the kernel flatly prohibits their use, then they'll get used anyway. They can and do emit code-like text, and lots of it, and currently they're cheap. Ban them, and they'll still be used – the users will just deny it.
Of course, they might not remain cheap. This vulture strongly suspects that another AI winter is coming. The [17]first one was circa 1984 , and the second about a decade later, with the end of the Fifth Generation Computer Systems project sponsored by Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). Now, all that is left of the FGCS is a [18]web museum .
[19]
We suspect that the third and biggest AI winter is imminent. [20]Some analysts think so too , while others feel that [21]what's left behind will remain valuable . Right now, the "generative AI" industry is [22]spending vast amounts to subsidize these models and their use, [23]propping up the US economy in the hope of future trillion-dollar-scale profitability. If that doesn't happen and the industry collapses, the coding-assistant advocates may suddenly find that plain old human brainpower is much cheaper than [24]hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of datacentres .
Some large model prices are [25]already increasing sharply . Put another few zeros on the end of the pricing and we suspect people may get much less keen on using them. This may yet prove to be a self-correcting issue, given a few years. ®
Get our [26]Tech Resources
[1] https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/1c74353c-40de-4d0b-a517-92a94f8b4af8@lucifer.local/
[2] https://ljs.io/kernel
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aWA3Df2A38S0UGJNH_lMWwAAA0E&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/93aadf2b-0df4-49eb-91fd-b401b44ce3af@sr71.net/
[5] https://sr71.net/
[6] https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-Kernel-AI-Guidelines-v3
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aWA3Df2A38S0UGJNH_lMWwAAA0E&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aWA3Df2A38S0UGJNH_lMWwAAA0E&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://dmitrybrant.com/2025/09/07/using-claude-code-to-modernize-a-25-year-old-kernel-driver
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/29/linus_torvalds_ai_hype/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/18/linus_torvalds_vibe_coding/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/24/opinion_column_vibe_coding/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/22/what_linux_desktop_really_needs/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/06/loss32_crazy_or_inspired/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/07/gnome_middle_click_paste/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/02/brow6el_browser_terminal/
[17] https://www.historyofdatascience.com/ai-winter-the-highs-and-lows-of-artificial-intelligence/
[18] https://www.ueda.info.waseda.ac.jp/AITEC_ICOT_ARCHIVES/ICOT/HomePage.html
[19] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aWA3Df2A38S0UGJNH_lMWwAAA0E&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/28/forrester_ai_spending/
[21] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/30/how_nvidia_survives_ai_bubble_pop/
[22] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/22/ai_hyperscale_capex_research/
[23] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/24/ai_investment_us_recession/
[24] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/14/datacenter_investment/
[25] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/15/augment_pricing_model/
[26] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
actual intelligence
captain veg
Global human population: circa 8 billion.
Cost of running so-called AI datacentres: several trillion dollars. Each year.
You do the maths.
-A.
Fruit and Nutcase
...it's not entirely clear to us what Torvalds's position here really is.
As I was reading the quote, I did wonder. I've never seen a Penguin sitting on a fence - guess I have now.
Paul Crawford
To be fair, Antarctica has few fences for penguins to practice on and get accustomed to the experience...
heyrick
Isn't the point that his position doesn't matter in the context of the kernel and that he doesn't want to get drawn into pointless arguments for or against?
paraphrase
Fruit and Nutcase
Rather than try to paraphrase the great man
How about running the quote through one or more LLMs? Would they manage where we've failed to comprehend?
At the risk of annoying the linuxocracy, I wouldn't score him too high on diplomacy.
Tron
I don't think it will take a couple of years for AI to go TU. As soon as it is clear that lazy plebs won't pay enough to have their homework/code written badly for them, they will go all in on AI as weaponised tech - not safe in the hands of the proles. They will then obtain the lashings of cash they want from governments selling it like a moon shot/nuclear weapons race for the 21stC. Pay us zillions or China wins etc. Yes, politicians are that dumb.
Hopefully, when they go, they will take their crappy chatbots with them, so we don't have to wait for a backlash and a few deaths before they are dumped. Companies employing a rubbish tech that is so widely hated are only digging their own graves.
Cost
Given the numbers economists have quoted, where AI investment is propping up the US economy, I can see how AI is more expensive than humans. I don't think I'd ever read programmers were propping up the US economy in the entire time programmers have existed. If the truth is that humans are cheaper than AI, the bubble is going to burst. A burst of size of the China's Three Gorges Dam collapsing.