Ballot option: Debian is created by humans

Gard Spreemann <[email protected]> Tue, 11 Aug 2026 16:10:00 +0200
Newsgroups	gmane.linux.debian.devel.vote
Message-ID	<[email protected]>
Hello all,

Some of us feel that we lack a middle of the road option that
differentiates between the output of LLMs entering into Debian, and a
Debian contributor consuming the output of LLMs to assist them in work
on Debian. I therefore submit the following ballot option.

I realize that there is a large number of options already, but we do
have a voting system that is unperturbed by that. While a large number
of options might mean extra work for voters, I on balance believe that
it is more important that all views are reflected.

Thanks to all those who participated in the discussions and gave
feedback, and to those who worked on other attempts at middle of the
road options reflecting the abovementioned distinction.

NB: The proposal uses the term "generative AI" to mean what some other
proposals call "LLMs" or just "AI". Several people suggested that I
change the term, and while I agree that it's quite suboptimal, I also
don't think those two other alternatives are much better. Yet other,
shall we say more colorful, alternatives can be nice, but run the risk
of not conveying the same meaning to everyone. For better or worse, the
term as it stands is at least *understood*. If the ballot option does
get enough seconds, I would not object to changing the term to another
standard term as part of a minor editorial change.


 Best,
 Gard


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# Debian is created by humans


## Preamble

This proposal aims to ensure that contributions directly to Debian are
created by humans, while at the same time avoiding restrictions on the
tools those humans may choose to use when contributing.

The proposal deals with *direct* contributions to Debian, including, but
not limited to:

* Debian packaging
* Submissions (messages, bug reports, patches, etc.) to the BTS, Salsa,
  mailing lists and other Debian platforms 
* Debian project software
* Debian infrastructure
* Debian web resources
* Documentation and translation added as part of contributing to Debian
* Official communication from Debian

The proposal does not cover *indirect* contributions, i.e. those
originating from upstream works.

Generative AI is characterized by producing output of a nature that
would ordinarily be produced and consumed by humans. The proposal seeks
to restrict this output itself from entering Debian (except possibly
indirectly, from upstream). It does not seek to restrict Debian
contributors from consuming such output as part of contributing to
Debian.


## Rationale

Debian has a well-earned reputation for stability. This stability is
crucial to its position in the free software ecosystem. It is our belief
that a significant part of this stability comes from Debian contributors
having mutual understanding, trust and respect for each others' work and
precious time. Generative AI tends to come with practical, legal,
ethical or ecological concerns that warrant care or extra work that
often ends up being borne by people other than those wielding the AI. We
believe that this asymmetry between contributors leveraging generative
AI to produce material, and those humans who bear that extra care and
work, will erode the project's mutual understanding, trust and respect.

While Debian has a long-standing tradition of strict rules for what goes
into the distribution, it does not typically dictate what tools people
use when contributing to the project. With this principle in mind, the
proposal does not affect the use of generative AI as an assisitive tool
to explore, research, analyze, critique, etc., when contributing. The
responsibilities that come with using the output of an AI in such a role
is then not transferred onto the wider project in the same problematic
way as when the output itself is the contribution.


## Proposal

In order to safeguard the project's mutual understanding, trust and
respect, we disallow the output of generative AI as direct contributions
to Debian.

Those who use such tools assistively in their work are reminded to
ensure that the resulting contribution is in line with the DFSG and the
Social Contract in general.

In summary, humans create Debian.


## Acknowledgements

This proposal is inspired by GCC's AI Policy [1] and rust-lang's LLM
Usage Policy [2]. Its wording is influenced by another ballot
option [3].

[1] https://gcc.gnu.org/ai-policy.html

[2] https://forge.rust-lang.org/policies/llm-usage.html

[3] https://www.debian.org/vote/2026/vote_002#texta


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