Torvalds: 'AI Is a Tool, Just Like Other Tools. It's Clearly a Useful One'
Linus Torvalds states that AI is a useful tool and that Linux is not an anti-AI project, inviting dissenters to fork or walk away.
Daring Fireball: Linus Torvalds: 'AI Is a Tool, Just Like Other Tools We Use. And It's Clearly a Useful One.'
Linus Torvalds: ‘AI Is a Tool, Just Like Other Tools We Use. And It’s Clearly a Useful One.’
Linus Torvalds:
I realize that some people really dislike AI, but this is an area where I’m willing to absolutely put my foot down as the top-level maintainer.
Linux is not one of those anti-AI projects, and if somebody has issues with that, they can do the open-source thing and fork it.
Or just walk away.
AI is a tool, just like other tools we use. And it’s clearly a useful one.
It may not have been that “clearly” even just a year ago, but it’s no longer in question today.
There are other questions around AI (like what the economy of it will actually look like in the end), but “is it useful” is no longer one of those questions. Anybody who doubts that clearly hasn’t actually used it.
★ Friday, 17 July 2026