On 2026-02-28 12:44, [email protected] wrote:
Ludovic Courtès <[email protected]> writes:
One thing I wonder is whether the project should have an “opinion” on
generative AI in general and its relation to computer programming and
human creativity. I do have an opinion :-) and the question is whether
taking a stance as a project is worth it and feasible.
guix has already taken a stand on a number of issues, which, while
easier to police, i find, personally, far less problematic than the use
of llms.
guix is a free software project, first and foremost, and that has been
made clear on its hardline stance against firmware blobs. to my
understanding, this is done for the explicit purpose of encouraging user
freedom, even if it comes with some pain, because freedom is
paramount. any criticism i have of certain policies is through that
lens, and any criticism should first be made through that lens.
"does this promote and extend freedom" should be the first test before
adoption of anything. in most cases the answers are pretty clear. in a
few they are not.
but llms are not just not free, they are anti-free. they are in direct
opposition with freedom. as such, guix should, in my opinion take a very
aggressive stand against them.
i will refrain from enumerating the incredible, manifold ways that llms
take away freedom in this email, in order to not derail this into
arguing back and forth on specific points, because, to me, the important
question is only this: "will this make us more free?"
llms are about as black-and-white an answer to this issue as i can
imagine, and the answer is a resounding "no." so guix should reject them
with as much force as it can.
-bjc
Your fantastic argument, which in the root I agree with, has only one
flaw in my opinion.
Guix can only decide on the things it does. The stance on binary blobs
is that Guix does not share them. It does not prevent the users from
using them (in fact, I do use binary blobs). That is also freedom, the
freedom for people to take their own decisions, regardless if they are
good or bad.
As I said before, from the Guix side, I could have been using LLMs for a
while and Guix wouldn't notice (and I made a few commits!).
The LLM does not demand anything from Guix like the "binary blob" stance
you mention. They might make the review process harder or other things
we can discuss, but that's not Guix itself having to change to
accommodate or include them. It's not the actions of Guix we are
discussing, but the actions of individuals that we are discussing if we
limit or we don't.
That is, really, the most "anti-free" action one could think of.
In practical terms, I would just don't do anything and wait to see if
LLMs are actually a concern in the project. They might never be (mostly
because those who take part in GNU projects do care about software and
freedom), and we are here discussing for nothing.
I know we all are super smart and our ethics are better than anybody
else's, but still.
Maybe, if we want to actually do something about LLMs, maybe we should
take a look to our actions first and how we encourage training of LLMs
with our actions. I'd say that conversation is in scope. Whatever a
person does in the intimacy of their computer is none of my business.
