Re: GR -- Allow AI-Assisted Contributions (was Re: DFSG-new-queue is AI-generated)

Simon Josefsson <[email protected]> Sun, 01 Mar 2026 12:13:57 +0100

Newsgroups	gmane.linux.debian.devel.vote
Message-ID	<[email protected]>

Ansgar 🙀 <[email protected]> writes:

>> The last version thereof was:
>> https://lists.debian.org/debian-vote/2025/05/msg00145.html
>
> That includes the following section:
>
> +---
> | Any work resulting from generative use of a model can at most be
> | as free as the model itself; e.g. programming with a model from
> | contrib/non-free assisting prevents the result from entering main.
> +---
>
> which would ban projects like the Linux kernel, the Python interpreter,
> LLVM, ... and their reverse dependencies from Debian, likely also from
> non-free.
>
> What is the plan to deal with that?

I don't think that is the only (or even intended) interpretation -- my
reading of the proposal was that if a LLM is used as build dependency
when building the Debian package, and that LLM is in contrib/non-free,
then the package cannot be in main.  That, it is just restating what we
already know about build dependencies.

If some external project like the Linux kernel, Firefox, or whatever,
turns into an entirely vibe coded project, I don't think there is
anything in any Debian policy today that would prohibit packaging it.
Assuming copyright and licensing are communicated correctly (whatever
that even means today), and live up to DFSG.

I also don't think Debian can win any fight to reject such
contributions.  Several people already explained that critical pieces of
the FOSS ecosystemn is already (co-)written using LLM tools.

/Simon

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