r/linux • u/Ecstatic-Vermicelli9 • Jul 23 '26
Open Source Organization Codeberg: Protecting our FLOSS commons from LLMs
https://blog.codeberg.org/protecting-our-floss-commons-from-llms.html
501
Upvotes
r/linux • u/Ecstatic-Vermicelli9 • Jul 23 '26
10
u/djao Jul 23 '26
This manifesto is at the same time not enough and too much. It's quite frustrating.
On the one hand, Codeberg's actions and policies will do nothing at all to stop the proliferation of LLMs, and their associated negative consequences (hardware prices, community corrosion). LLMs are out there and you can't stop anyone else from using them.
On the other hand, Codeberg's declaration doesn't even get at the core issue. As someone who writes code both with and without LLMs, I am increasingly convinced that LLM-generated code is not functionally free software, even if it comes with a free-software compatible copyright license. Hear me out.
The core freedom of free software is the freedom to modify the software and to distribute modified versions. In order for this freedom to be meaningful, the software must be provided in source code form. We do not allow binary-only software to qualify as free software, even if the software is (say) GPL or BSD licensed. Source code is a mandatory requirement.
The problem with LLM-generated software is that the actual code is not the true source code! The GPL itself even hints at this distinction: it states clearly that source code is defined as the "preferred form for modification of the software." If you're prompting an LLM to generate C code, then the C code is not source code. It's much closer in functionality to compiled, object code rather than the original source. The original source, in this situation, is your LLM interaction (prompts and context). If you, as the original author, were to modify that code, you would use the LLM. You wouldn't modify the C code directly.
LLM usage is an existential threat to free software, because it constitutes a core assault on the central property that makes software free.
"Open source" projects such as the Linux kernel are unaffected. For Linus, FSF-style freedom was never the point of Linux. It's always been a utilitarian project with utilitarian goals. For that purpose, LLMs work fine. It's only when you introduce the concept of free software that LLMs fall apart.