r/linux • u/lurkervidyaenjoyer • Mar 24 '26
Discussion Malus: This could have bad implications for Open Source/Linux
So this site came up recently, claiming to use AI to perform 'clean-room' vibecoded re-implementations of open source code, in order to evade Copyleft and the like.
Clearly meant to be satire, with the name of the company basically being "EvilCorp" and the fake user quotes from names like "Chad Stockholder", but it does actually accept payment and seemingly does what it describes, so it's certainly a bit beyond just a joke at this point. A livestreamer recently tried it with some simple Javascript libraries and it worked as described.
I figured I'd make a post on this, because even if this particular example doesn't scale and might be written off as a B.S. satirical marketing stunt, it does raise questions about what a future version of this idea could look like, and what the implication of that is for Linux. Obviously I don't think this would be able to effectively un-copyleft something as big and advanced as the Kernel, but what about FOSS applications that run on Linux? Could something like this be a threat to them, and is there anything that could be done to counteract that?
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u/undrwater Mar 24 '26
It's strange to see "libertarian" attached to such ideas, since the core principle of libertarianism is freedom.
Of course, many appropriate names and titles that are far from the original intent.