Hi, I'd like to propose an elfutils policy for contributions containing content generated by LLM or AI tools (AI-assisted contributions). A written policy will help clarify for contributors whether elfutils accepts AI-assisted contributions and whether any special procedures apply.
There isn't a consensus across major open source projects on whether AI-assisted contributions should be allowed. For example, Binutils [1], Gentoo [2], and man-pages [3] have adopted policies rejecting most or all AI-assisted contributions. Fedora [4] and the Linux Foundation [5] have policies permitting the use of AI-assisted contributions. Contributors are expected to disclose the use of any AI tools and take responsibility for the contribution's quality and license compatibility. In my opinion, elfutils should permit AI-assisted contributions. As for specific policies, I suggest the following. (1) AI-assisted contributions should include a disclosure that some or all of the contribution was generated using an AI tool. The git commit tag "Assisted-by:" has been adopted for this purpose by Fedora, for instance. (2) AI-assisted contributions should otherwise be treated like any other contribution. The contributor vouches for the quality of their contribution and verifies license compatibility with their DCO "Signed-off-by:" tag while reviewers evaluate the technical merits of the contribution. (3) Maintainers may reject contributions at their discretion. Rejection can occur if a contribution is unnecessary, low quality, or creates an excessive review burden, for example. Maintainer discretion to accept or refuse a contribution has always applied, but it may be worth stating this in the policy. I'm interested in hearing what others think about this. Elfutils has already accepted AI-assisted contributions. This proposal formalizes the status quo and is broadly aligned with the policies of Fedora and the Linux Foundation. Aaron [1] https://sourceware.org/binutils/wiki/LLM_Generated_Content [2] https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Project:Council/AI_policy [3] https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/docs/man-pages/man-pages.git/tree/CONTRIBUTING.d/ai [4] https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/council/policy/ai-contribution-policy/ [5] https://www.linuxfoundation.org/legal/generative-ai
