linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH] [v3] Documentation: Provide guidelines for tool-generated content

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Message-ID: <CAHk-=wg0sdh_OF8zgFD-f6o9yFRK=tDOXhB1JAxfs11W9bX--Q@mail.gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 7 Jan 2026 16:06:35 -0800
From: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@...ux-foundation.org>
To: Lorenzo Stoakes <lorenzo.stoakes@...cle.com>
Cc: Dave Hansen <dave@...1.net>, Dave Hansen <dave.hansen@...ux.intel.com>, 
	linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org, Shuah Khan <shuah@...nel.org>, 
	Kees Cook <kees@...nel.org>, Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@...uxfoundation.org>, 
	Miguel Ojeda <ojeda@...nel.org>, Luis Chamberlain <mcgrof@...nel.org>, SeongJae Park <sj@...nel.org>, 
	Dan Williams <dan.j.williams@...el.com>, Steven Rostedt <rostedt@...dmis.org>, 
	NeilBrown <neilb@...mail.net>, "Theodore Ts'o" <tytso@....edu>, Sasha Levin <sashal@...nel.org>, 
	Jonathan Corbet <corbet@....net>, Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@...e.cz>, workflows@...r.kernel.org, 
	ksummit@...ts.linux.dev
Subject: Re: [PATCH] [v3] Documentation: Provide guidelines for tool-generated content

On Wed, 7 Jan 2026 at 13:20, Lorenzo Stoakes <lorenzo.stoakes@...cle.com> wrote:
>
> Thinking LLMs are 'just another tool' is to say effectively that the kernel
> is immune from this. Which seems to me a silly position.

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.

             Linus