The Linux kernel networking subsystem is experiencing significantly larger pull requests than in previous cycles, attributed to AI/LLM coding agents like Claude Code and ChatGPT Codex generating increased patch activity. Maintainer Paolo Abeni noted the current networking pull request for Linux 7.1 is bigger than the same point in the prior cycle, despite being smaller than the previous week. This comes even after Linus Torvalds expressed disappointment in Linux 7.1-rc5 about unnecessary churn caused by AI-assisted patches. The pull request includes fixes for regressions in netfilter, netlink, bridge, sched, ipv4, and various ethernet drivers.
5 Impressions