All posts tagged: kernel

The new rules for AI-assisted code in the Linux kernel: What every dev needs to know

The new rules for AI-assisted code in the Linux kernel: What every dev needs to know

Published by skeptic

Emilija Manevska/Moment/Getty Images Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways Torvalds and the Linux maintainers are taking a pragmatic approach to using AI in the kernel.  AI or no AI, it’s people, not LLMs, who are responsible for Linux’s code.  If you try to mess around with Linux code using AI, bad things will happen. After months of heated debate, Linus Torvalds and the Linux kernel maintainers have officially codified the project’s first formal policy on AI-assisted code contributions. This new policy reflects Torvald’s pragmatic approach, balancing the embrace of modern AI development tools with the kernel’s rigorous quality standards. The new guidelines establish three core principles: AI agents cannot add Signed-off-by tags: Only humans can legally certify the Linux kernel’s Developer Certificate of Origin (DCO). This is the legal mechanism that ensures code licensing compliance. In other words, even if you turned in a patch that was written entirely by AI, you, and not the AI or its creator, are solely responsible for the contribution.  Mandatory Assisted-by attribution: …

Linux after Linus? The kernel community finally drafts a plan for replacing Torvalds

Linux after Linus? The kernel community finally drafts a plan for replacing Torvalds

Published by skeptic

Linux kernel project Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways If something happens to Linus Torvalds, there’s now a succession plan. Rather than naming a successor, the plan describes a process for selecting successors. However, Torvalds has no plans to retire. After more than three decades in the Linux driver’s seat, Linus Torvalds will one day step away from his role as gatekeeper of the Linux kernel. We’ve always known that, of course, but the open-source project is no longer gambling on that scenario. The core kernel community has formally drafted a project‑continuity plan outlining how it would replace Torvalds as the top‑level maintainer if something were to happen to him or if he were to retire.  Also: Linus Torvalds is ‘a huge believer’ in using AI to maintain code – just don’t call it a revolution Mind you, when I asked him just now if he had any retirement plans — my own plan is to fall over gracefully onto my keyboard — he replied, “My plan seems to just be ‘I …

Astronomers discover previously unseen kernel structure inside the Kuiper Belt

Astronomers discover previously unseen kernel structure inside the Kuiper Belt

Published by Jenni Sidey

Astronomers at Princeton University have uncovered evidence that the outer solar system is more structured than long believed. Led by astrophysics doctoral student Amir Siraj, the research points to a compact, previously unseen cluster of icy bodies inside the Kuiper Belt. The finding suggests that distant solar system orbits still hold clues about how the planets moved billions of years ago. The Kuiper Belt lies beyond Neptune and contains countless frozen remnants left over from planet formation. For years, astronomers thought they had identified its main features. One of the most prominent is the “kernel,” a tight grouping of objects on calm, low-tilt orbits about 44 astronomical units from the Sun. An astronomical unit, or AU, is the average distance between Earth and the Sun. The new study shows that this familiar picture may be incomplete. Using a data-mining technique borrowed from stellar astronomy, Siraj and his colleagues found signs of a second compact structure just inside the known kernel. They call it the “inner kernel,” a group of Kuiper Belt objects clustered around 43 …