Linus Torvalds has publicly rejected anti-AI sentiment within Linux kernel development, stating that the project will not adopt an ideological opposition to artificial intelligence. Responding to discussions about Sashiko, an AI-assisted code review system, Torvalds told developers uncomfortable with AI integration to either fork the project or leave, making clear that pragmatic technical merit will guide adoption decisions rather than ideological concerns.

Torvalds characterises AI as a standard development tool comparable to other utilities the kernel project employs, noting its utility has become evident in recent times. Whilst acknowledging limitations including increased maintenance burden and the tendency to expose existing bugs in code, he views AI as beneficial for reducing workload on kernel maintainers during debugging. This stance aligns the Linux project with other organisations adopting AI-assisted tools for developer productivity, reflecting a pragmatic rather than ideological approach to technology adoption.