What Joey Hess thinks about LLMs
American free software developer, author of git-annex and debhelper, and a Debian developer from 1996 to 2014.
Joey Hess did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
Only Joey Hess on LLMs. See everyone on LLMs
4 dated positions, 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Joey Hess has said — not written or endorsed by them.
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Their wordsWhat LLMs in Debian development will do, I fear, is eliminate any incentive to scrap boilerplate or reform policies that require a lot of other senseless human effort.
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Our readingLLMs will make Debian more firmly what it is and less likely to explore what it could become.
Their wordsSo they will make Debian even more firmly what it is, and ever less likely to explore what it could become.
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Their wordsIf they succeeed, Debian will become dependent on proprietary software for development, while still needing people in the loop, doing even less appealing scut-work.
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Our readingDebian allowing LLM use in development would be reason enough for him to leave the project.
Their wordsI could speak of other harms, but that alone is enough that I'm sure that, if I had not left the project twelve years ago, I would be leaving it soon.