2026-05-25

Will AI destroy open-source software? There's a lot of hand wringing
about the threat of AI-slop and open-source software. I don't really
have a good answer but I think ultimately, AI will be used to
generate tons of open-source software in the future.

And honestly is that so bad? Let's be real, a lot of opensource
software has been co-opted by tech companies and businesses who
use it as their foundational tech stack. Let those software use
cases be the ones that need the rapid-AI code generation and all
that jazz.

The bespoke hobbyist open-source will always be around and frankly
I think will grow in stature. When all your boring tech/business
code is AI generated and maintained by corporate entities, programmers
and people who like the act of programming in and of itself will
move to projects that scratch their itch. They will contribute or
create projects and communities that value hand written code and
old-school code contributions.

There are thousands of people that still sew clothes as a craft
even though industrial created fast fashion clothes are being sold
by tons at rock bottom prices...

Frankly, I hope we do move back to more hobbyist roots in open-source.
Companies have exploited the free labor of open-source contributors
for so long that they deserve the AI-future they created.

just my 2c