Linux lays down the law on AI-generated code, says yes to Copilot, no to AI slop, and humans take the fall for mistakes — after months of fierce debate, Torvalds and maintainers come to an agreement

The Linux kernel project has established a new policy allowing AI-assisted code contributions with strict disclosure rules, requiring a new "Assisted-by" tag for transparency instead of the "Signed-off-by" tag. This move comes after a debate over AI tools' policing, with Linus Torvalds emphasizing that AI is just another tool and focusing on holding human developers accountable for code quality and security flaws. The policy aims to legally anchor AI-generated code onto human developers, addressing concerns about undisclosed AI assistance and the volume of "AI slop" flooding the open-source world. The Linux kernel's pragmatic approach acknowledges the reality of developers using AI tools while emphasizing human liability for code quality.