Re: [RFC PATCH] docs: submitting-patches: (AI?) Tool disclosure tag

Konstantin Ryabitsev
2025-07-24T19:07:19Z

On Thu, Jul 24, 2025 at 06:54:39PM +0100, linux@treblig.org wrote:
> From: "Dr. David Alan Gilbert" <linux@treblig.org>
>
> It seems right to require that code which is automatically
> generated is disclosed in the commit message.

I'm not sure that's the case. There is a lot of automatically generated
content being added to the kernel all the time -- such as auto-formatted code,
documentation, and unit tests generated by non-AI tooling. We've not required
indicating this usage before, so I'm not sure it makes sense to start doing it
now.

Furthermore, merely indicating the tool doesn't really say anything about how
it was used (e.g. what version, what prompt, what context, etc.) If anything,
this information needs to live in the cover letter of the submission. I would
suggest we investigate encouraging contributors to disclose this there, e.g.:

| ---
| This patch series was partially generated with "InsensitiveClod o4 Hokus"
| and then heavily modified to remove the parts where it went completely off
| the deep end.

I am also not opposed to having a more standard cover letter footer that would
allow an easier way to query this information via public-inbox services, e.g.:

| generated-by: insensitive clod o4 hokus

However, I don't really think this belongs in the commit trailers.

-K