The Debian Project has voted to permit contributors to use generative AI tools when creating software, packaging and documentation, though developers remain fully responsible for the quality of what they submit. Community members chose "Responsible Use of Generative AI" from a shortlist of eight competing proposals that ranged from an outright ban to environmental objections, reflecting a wider split within the open-source world over AI-assisted coding.

Under the winning proposal, Debian will "neither endorse nor prohibit" generative AI use, arguing the tools can boost volunteer productivity when used responsibly. It explicitly rejects "AI made a mistake" as an excuse for poor contributions, requiring all submissions to meet existing standards regardless of how they were produced, and states that blindly uploading unchecked AI output breaches Debian's development norms; disclosure of AI assistance is encouraged but not mandatory. Just under 600 people voted, with almost 450 valid ballots counted after rejections. The decision contrasts with Gentoo's outright AI ban and similar resistance from NetBSD and OpenBSD, while aligning Debian more closely with Linux's Linus Torvalds, who has welcomed AI contributions despite occasionally criticising AI-generated bug reports.