# Linux Foundation survey finds AI-generated pull requests make up a quarter of contributions

Digest AI · Policy & Regulation · published 2026-10-21T12:43:00Z

Canonical: https://digestai.news/story/linux-foundation-survey-finds-ai-generated-pull-requests-make-up-a-qua

## Summary

A Linux Foundation survey of open‑source maintainers shows that roughly a quarter of incoming pull requests are low‑quality “AI slop,” and the share climbs to 31 % on larger projects. Respondents said generative AI cuts code‑authoring time by 52 % on average, though 21 % report longer times for very complex tasks.

Almost three‑quarters (71 %) of maintainers believe AI lowers the barrier to contributing, but just over half (53 %) say it has not improved community trust. Only 35 % of projects have a formal policy allowing GenAI use, while 32 % have no policy and no plans for one. Hilary Carter, SVP of Research at the Linux Foundation, warned that clearer expectations and better tooling are needed to manage the growing AI‑generated contributor base.

The curl project announced it will move low and medium severity flaws to public view after its security team became overwhelmed by AI‑assisted reports. Project maintainer Daniel Stenberg described the strain on key maintainers as “overloaded and brought to the brink of what we can muster.”

## Key points

- A Linux Foundation survey says about a quarter of incoming pull requests are low‑quality “AI slop,” rising to 31 % on larger projects.
- 71 % of maintainers say generative AI lowers contribution barriers, while 53 % say it hasn’t improved community trust.
- Only 35 % of projects have a formal GenAI policy; 32 % have no policy and no plans for one.

## Why it matters

The surge of AI‑generated code adds workload and trust challenges for open‑source projects, underscoring the need for clearer policies and better maintainer tools.

## Sources

1. [AI cuts coding time, but it's also filling open source's inbox with crap](https://theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/10/21/ai-cuts-coding-time-but-its-also-filling-open-sources-inbox-with-crap/5304389) (The Register AI/ML, 2026-10-21)

## Cite

Digest AI, "Linux Foundation survey finds AI-generated pull requests make up a quarter of contributions", 21 October 2026, https://digestai.news/story/linux-foundation-survey-finds-ai-generated-pull-requests-make-up-a-qua

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