The Linux kernel project merged a new coding-assistants policy document permitting AI-assisted contributions under strict accountability rules. Developers may use tools like GitHub Copilot, but AI agents are prohibited from adding Signed-off-by tags — only humans can legally certify the Developer Certificate of Origin. Tom's Hardware reports the policy explicitly rejects "AI slop" — poorly vetted generated code — and holds the human submitter fully responsible for bugs, security flaws, and license compliance. The compromise ends months of debate among Torvalds and kernel maintainers over how to handle AI-era contributions.