Hey Holger, Modulo s/accellerates/accelerates/ below (argh!), I'm happy to second this ballot option.
On Wed, Aug 12, 2026 at 03:12:43PM +0000, Holger Levsen wrote: > >---- start ballot proposal ---- > >title: LLM usage accellerates the destruction of our ecosystem (planet earth) > and that is a deal-breaker > > > >Using its power under Constitution section 4.1(5), the Project issues the >following statement describing its current position regarding the use of LLM >(Large Language Models) within Debian. > >We don't have a concern with the LLM _technology_ as such: it's just maths and >enough training material, which outputs a very large set of numbers that we can >use to infer new material from existing material. But we cannot talk about the >LLM technology without talking about who is pushing for its usage, who is doing >the training and how, what effect those have on our limited resources, and what >are the economical and political motives of these. > >Foremost we don't understand how anyone can agree that global LLM usage >accellerates the destruction of our ecosystem, planet earth, and not feel like >that is a deal-breaker. > >To often the only response we've seen to this point was that other activities >are also bad (some even worse) for the climate. How is this even an argument? >The planet is burning, we should try to stop that as much and as fast as we >can! >If others aren't stopping, isn't that even more reason to compensate for their >irresponsible actions? > >And while we're on that point: All of our users live on this planet, so >protecting this planet is a matter of life and death for all of us. In other >words, caring about something as big as climate change during our Debian work >is >self evident. > >Debian recognizes that LLM *also* raise significant ethical, legal, technical, >and social concerns. These include questions relating to copyright and >licensing, privacy, the provenance and quality of generated material, the >health >of Free Software communities, and the long-term consequences of widespread >reliance on LLM-generated content. > >That said, we would like to emphasize that we condemn LLM (resource) usage but >not LLM users. Fight the game, but not the players. > >We also acknowledge that LLM usage can be hard if not impossible to detect and >that Debian as a distribution cannot really impose LLM policies on other >projects we package and distribute. Therefore this text is just a position >statement. This said however, we appreciate the disclosure of LLM usage. > >Accordingly, Debian encourages contributors to avoid the use of LLM where >practical and to prefer human authorship, collaboration, and technical >understanding over LLM-generated output. > >At the same time, Debian has long relied on the judgment and responsibility of >its contributors rather than prescribing individual workflows. Contributors >remain responsible for everything they submit, irrespective of the tools used >in >preparing a contribution. Existing Debian standards regarding quality, >correctness, licensing, and legal compliance continue to apply. > >The Debian project has always recognized the commitment and professionalism of >its members. All contributions are under the responsibility of the Debian >Contributor making it, no matter the technology they have behind. We trust all >Debian Developers, Maintainers and Contributors will continue to uphold the >high >quality values that have distinguished our project from its onset. > >Please keep being excellent to each other and the only planet we have. > > > >---- end ballot proposal ---- > >with thanks to Didier 'OdyX' Raboud for >https://lists.debian.org/debian-vote/2026/08/msg00101.html >and Bas Wijnen for https://lists.debian.org/debian-vote/2026/08/msg00118.html >and Tobias Frost for https://lists.debian.org/debian-vote/2026/07/msg00343.html > >Obviously written without the help of LLM. > > >-- >cheers, > Holger > > ⢀⣴⠾⠻⢶⣦⠀ > ⣾⠁⢠⠒⠀⣿⡁ holger@(debian|reproducible-builds|layer-acht).org > ⢿⡄⠘⠷⠚⠋⠀ OpenPGP: B8BF54137B09D35CF026FE9D 091AB856069AAA1C > ⠈⠳⣄ > >Which Large Language Model do you prefer? The one that claims trans people >don’t >exist or the one that doesn’t want to talk about Tian'anmen Square in 1989? >(@[email protected]) > -- Steve McIntyre, Cambridge, UK. [email protected] "I suspect most samba developers are already technically insane... Of course, since many of them are Australians, you can't tell." -- Linus Torvalds
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