A Linux VR project is "sanitizing" its AI code (and banning AI entirely)

A lead contributor of ALVR, an open source Linux app for streaming VR games to headsets over Wi-Fi, has announced that the project is enacting a "sanitization" project of its source code, targeting all AI-generated contributions. It's also banning future AI-involved contributions.

On Friday, the GitHub contributor zmerp opened issue 3440 in ALVR's GitHub repository detailing an effort to "remove as much as possible the footprint of AI in the ALVR codebase." This includes all code, documentation, and comments that attributed to an LLM. No explicit reason for the cleanup was given.

• The issue title does explicitly calls the undertaking a "de-sloppification."

How it works: The issue invites contributors to "take authorship" of code contributions that have been identified as LLM-written or LLM-involved. The human author will then be responsible for reviewing that code, deleting or replacing all comments and documentation. Large segments of code that the author can't make sense of, that appear convoluted, or that have style issues the author must rewrite by hand or simply delete.

• The only exception is for "code that is small enough that it could have been written by hand." That code is allowed to stay in the repository.

Interestingly: The sanitization project is both a bold undertaking and a reversal of course, as zmerp listed over 30 known LLM-associated contributions. ALVR's official contributing policy allowed (and at the time of writing, still does allow) LLM contributions with human oversight. Zmerp admitted it will be difficult to completely eliminate and block all generative code, saying "this task will be a 'best effort' endeavor." She also clarified for someone asking in the issue thread that "AI will not be permitted anymore."

• In an announcement about the sanitization project on the ALVR project's Discord server, zmerp added that she herself had been using Claude in her ALVR contributions since June, but that she would not from now on.

Which Linux distros have banned AI code?

Avoiding AI entirely is difficult, but you do have a few options if you're trying to build a desktop completely free of generative code.

New In LinuxJordan Gloor

Zooming out

Why this announcement matters: ALVR has for years been the go-to solution for people running Linux gaming rigs who want to stream VR games to their headsets. Generative code continues to be a controversial subject in the open source world, with the massive Flathub repository banning LLM-based software earlier this year before later allowing it again, per Linuxiac.

• The VR-on-Linux landscape is changing too with the arrival of the Steam Frame, which is a VR headset that runs Arch Linux-based SteamOS, as reported by GamingOnLinux.

My take: It's been a while since I broke out my Quest headset and used ALVR, so I don't expect this to affect me. Still, I'm generally in favor of more oversight of LLM-involved development. I'll also be interested to watch how ALVR's contributors react to project, and how long it takes for all the "slop" to be cleaned up—if it can ever be accomplished.