--- title: Linus Torvalds: AI Won’t Replace Understanding Code description: Linus Torvalds shares his perspective on AI in software development, particularly its impact on the Linux kernel and open source projects. He acknowledges AI... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/linus-torvalds-ai-won-t-replace-understanding-code-5jtza0y30 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Linus Torvalds: AI Won’t Replace Understanding Code | daily.dev og:description: Linus Torvalds shares his perspective on AI in software development, particularly its impact on the Linux kernel and open source projects. He acknowledges AI... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/linus-torvalds-ai-won-t-replace-understanding-code-5jtza0y30 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/5jtZa0y30.png og:image:alt: Linus Torvalds: AI Won’t Replace Understanding Code og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Linus Torvalds: AI Won’t Replace Understanding Code **[SavvyNik](https://daily.dev/sources/savvynik)** · 11 min read · 357 upvotes · 29 comments ## Summary Linus Torvalds shares his perspective on AI in software development, particularly its impact on the Linux kernel and open source projects. He acknowledges AI as a useful tool — comparable to compilers or assemblers — but warns it doesn't replace the need to understand code. He highlights a growing burnout problem among open source maintainers caused by low-quality, AI-generated bug reports and drive-by contributions. Torvalds advocates for local AI tools to avoid dependency on big tech, and stresses that developers who truly understand systems will use AI effectively, while those who don't will produce failing code. He distinguishes between throwaway 'vibe coding' projects and serious long-term software that requires deep understanding beyond just writing prompts. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@bits\_and\_bytes** · 31 upvotes > Yes It wont Replace the Desicion Makers, Engineers **@aamorim** · 13 upvotes > Honest question: has anyone ever groked code written by someone else? Groking code allows me to be confident enough to launch 'imperfect' code. The issue (IDK if it's a 'me' issue), is that I'm only able to grok code IF I'm the one that wrote it. **@radmilomarkovic** · 5 upvotes > Main question is how to understand the code which previously required human effort? **@k5rto** · 5 upvotes > it won't replace humans understanding code. it will replace humans production of code. **@germancarlossuarez** · 4 upvotes > I agree with Linus, but try to make tha a lot of people understand that. It's very difficult. Even CTOs. --- Tags: [#ai](https://daily.dev/tags/ai), [#open-source](https://daily.dev/tags/open-source), [#linux](https://daily.dev/tags/linux), [#code-review](https://daily.dev/tags/code-review), [#vibe-coding](https://daily.dev/tags/vibe-coding) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/linus-torvalds-ai-won-t-replace-understanding-code-5jtza0y30) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Linus Torvalds: AI Won’t Replace Understanding Code","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/linus-torvalds-ai-won-t-replace-understanding-code-5jtza0y30","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/linus-torvalds-ai-won-t-replace-understanding-code-5jtza0y30"},"datePublished":"2026-06-19T00:29:45.225Z","dateModified":"2026-07-01T09:52:51.789Z","description":"Linus Torvalds shares his perspective on AI in software development, particularly its impact on the Linux kernel and open source projects. 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Groking code allows me to be confident enough to launch ‘imperfect’ code. The issue (IDK if it’s a ‘me’ issue), is that I’m only able to grok code IF I’m the one that wrote it.","datePublished":"2026-06-19T13:50:30.008Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/5jtZa0y30#c-ENkgIkWWS","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"A Amorim","url":"https://daily.dev/aamorim","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--vKEN9aED--/f_auto/v1705414730/avatars/avatar_WlAx053BibG7bTLZs3DHr"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":13}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"Main question is how to understand the code which previously required human effort?","datePublished":"2026-06-19T20:43:18.469Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/5jtZa0y30#c-tq3aqrMOB","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Radmilo Markovic","url":"https://daily.dev/radmilomarkovic","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--gblKAFwc--/f_auto/v1774901807/avatars/avatar_pw9CkxZCzHWQjy1MHbhtO?_a=BAMAMiWQ0"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":5}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"it won’t replace humans understanding code. it will replace humans production of code.","datePublished":"2026-06-19T22:44:01.155Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/5jtZa0y30#c-KZSuQWovh","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"K5RTO","url":"https://daily.dev/k5rto","image":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/29823530?v=4"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":5}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"I agree with Linus, but try to make tha a lot of people understand that. It’s very difficult. Even CTOs.","datePublished":"2026-06-20T13:16:49.744Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/5jtZa0y30#c-flkbf9miY","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"German Carlos Suarez","url":"https://daily.dev/germancarlossuarez","image":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/ACg8ocLmkjKXwimeDCxdmBrULMyymVyRjcJ2QNtHmeiMZv9KuQ_UxA=s96-c"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":4}}]} ```