In reply to a developer on one of the Linux kernel mailing lists, Linux creator Linus Torvalds firmly put a foot down to push back against anti-AI comments.
Human written code these days feels equivalent to a unique and soulful artisan made item whereas AI code is like a soulless and defected factory made imitation. I’d much, much, much, rather support artisans over factory made slop and even before AI, artisan work has been well known to be significantly higher quality than factory made stuff. For something as foundational and important as a kernel, I really think AI has no place in it.
Artisans own their tools, that’s what makes them artisans (rather than wage workers). I believe after the bubble pops there will be legitimate uses for the tech, and we’ll be able to run a pretty good iteration in our own hardware, but as it is now I’m uncomfortable with my employer having the power to decide whether I have the tools they want me to use for the job, whereas with code that’s less of a concern.
There’s already pretty decent open weight models that you can run on your own hardware. They won’t be as fast as the models running in a datacenter but they will get the job done while not adding more money to the garbage fire that is ‘The AI Industry’.
I don’t think that the future of AI is as a massive subscription service industry, that is just rampant capitalism on full display (with all of the damage that it causes).
I was thinking more that lots of people don’t have the hardware required to begin with, and it’s really hard to purchase now (especially in poorer countries like mine), hopefully memory prices will come down at some point after the bubble bursts so we can afford shit
All I care about is whether it works and is secure. Bonus points for cheaper and faster development. If artisan code gets us there, sure. If AI code gets us there, great. I trust Linus to know what works and what doesn’t.
Human written code these days feels equivalent to a unique and soulful artisan made item whereas AI code is like a soulless and defected factory made imitation. I’d much, much, much, rather support artisans over factory made slop and even before AI, artisan work has been well known to be significantly higher quality than factory made stuff. For something as foundational and important as a kernel, I really think AI has no place in it.
Even artisans use tools.
Artisans own their tools, that’s what makes them artisans (rather than wage workers). I believe after the bubble pops there will be legitimate uses for the tech, and we’ll be able to run a pretty good iteration in our own hardware, but as it is now I’m uncomfortable with my employer having the power to decide whether I have the tools they want me to use for the job, whereas with code that’s less of a concern.
There’s already pretty decent open weight models that you can run on your own hardware. They won’t be as fast as the models running in a datacenter but they will get the job done while not adding more money to the garbage fire that is ‘The AI Industry’.
I don’t think that the future of AI is as a massive subscription service industry, that is just rampant capitalism on full display (with all of the damage that it causes).
I was thinking more that lots of people don’t have the hardware required to begin with, and it’s really hard to purchase now (especially in poorer countries like mine), hopefully memory prices will come down at some point after the bubble bursts so we can afford shit
This “argument” really shines the light on just how dumb pro AI people are.
This ‘ad hominem’ really shines the light on just how toxic anti-AI people are.
Did you have to ask ChatGPT how you felt about my comment then to create a response?
All I care about is whether it works and is secure. Bonus points for cheaper and faster development. If artisan code gets us there, sure. If AI code gets us there, great. I trust Linus to know what works and what doesn’t.