I’m lucky that the open-source software I maintain has so far managed to avoid most of the deluge of LLM-generated contributions. Sadly, I fear that this will not be the case for much longer.

To set forth my expectations before I have to explain myself, I’m going to start adding sections like this to the READMEs of the projects that I maintain:

Provenance

This software is proudly and fondly written, maintained, used - and most crucially - understood by real human beings. While we can’t personally attest to the provenance of every line of code ever contributed, the vast majority of the codebase has certainly been developed without the aid of large language models and other stochastic ‘intelligence’.

While the GPLv3 may not guarantee warranty ‘of any kind’, you can at least use this software in the comforting knowledge that its veracity and coherence is vouched for by sentient intelligence with skin in the game and a reputation to uphold.

Contribution guidelines

We expect contributors to adhere to the ethos of the project.

Source code is not an artifact, an intermediate representation, nor a bothersome annoyance whose creation is to be offloaded to metal and transistors. Source code is a source of truth - the only source of truth that constitutes this software project - and it deserves to be understood and curated by the accountable and reasoned mind of a human being.

Please refrain from contributing changes that you have not personally understood and instigated the authorship of. We do not expect perfection, but we do expect you to personally understand your own motivations and decisions.

Perhaps this seems over-dramatic to you, but I cannot feel anything but personal offence at the wilful - nay - enthusiastic consuming of the intellectual commons that weaned all of us that so love the art of programming.

I must say something.

If you notice accessibility issues with this site, please let me know!

© Joshua Barretto