AI Cuts Coding Time, but It's Also Filling Open Source's Inbox with Crap
The Register, Wednesday, October 21st, 2026
A Linux Foundation survey finds maintainers estimate a quarter of incoming pull requests are AI slop, rising to 31% on big projects.
LF Research surveyed open source contributors and maintainers about generative AI, and maintainers estimate 25% of incoming pull requests are low-quality AI slop, rising to 31% on larger projects.
Respondents said AI cut code-writing time by 52% on average, though 21% took longer on highly complex tasks.
71% say AI lowered barriers to contributing, but 53% disagree that it improved community trust, and only 35% of projects have a formal policy allowing GenAI while 32% have none.
The foundation urges clear policies, contributor responsibility for testing and disclosure, and better tools for maintainers.