Re: AI assisted code already committed?

On 4/1/26 14:41, requiem. wrote:
> Hello misc@
>
> Given the recent discussions regarding ext4fs and AI commits, can I ask what the status of these two commits are?
>
> https://github.com/openbsd/src/commit/9c2b8e445a0bdfafdd6148b1760f00aa5429627b
>
> https://github.com/openbsd/src/commit/e9af5eb5a61d189327b553b24d0d31f19c64b63f
>
> ( Originally discovered via https://mastodon.social/@mrmasterkeyboard/116329909911804392 )
>
> Are these going to stay or go?
>
> Thanks
>
> requiem
>

I think you are failing to understand the issue.

Having automated tools find problems, and perhaps even suggest a fix,
which is then evaluated for correctness by an Authentic Intelligence(*)
is long established as a valid and valued process. But just as you
don't take the output of lint as gospel, you don't take the word of
advanced tools (including the stuff commonly called "AI") and assume
there is a real bug, or that the proposed fix is "definitely" either
correct or less wrong than the current code. AND if you take the time
to read and understand the current code, you might find other problems
or other things to improve!

This is VERY different than having an automated tool scrape and steal
OTHER PEOPLE'S WORK as the basis of "new" code.

Sliding it back a few years:
* Googling for tips on how to address a problem: good.
* Googling for code and copying and pasting without understanding what
the code does, how it works, where it came from, the license involved,
claiming credit for it, and contaminating a free license code base
with unlicensable (or improperly licensed) code: all bad.

I've had the honor of getting a tiny peek at developers looking over the
results of various code auditing tools -- They try to figure out why
the audit tool objected to something, try to figure out if the issue is
real or a non-issue, and if it is a real issue, they will try to address
it in the best way possible...and sometimes, OTHER real problems are
noted in the process of the examination. SOMETIMES it is an easy, "D'oh!"
moment. Other times, there is a lot of discussion.

The people who assume that so-called "AI" can replace skilled programmers
are generally interested in AI for the same reason some people are
interested in artificial limbs(**). But simply banishing a tool WHEN
PROPERLY USED is foolish. When improperly used, more effective to banish
the abusers.

Nick.

(*) "Authentic Intelligence" -- a small subset of the human population.
(**) yes, that's a stolen "almost quote" that dates back at least 40 years.