[QGIS-Developer] Floating an idea: ban AI based contributed from non-core developers?

[Stefanos Natsis]

Hi all,

I'm on the same page with Nyall on this one. While not perfect, a no AI
policy will improve the SnR of new PRs and that's important granted that we
already struggle with a queue of ~100 PRs!

> QGIS already has a problem with welcoming new contributors, and a policy
giving more special rights to core contributors will only make the
situation worse.

I strongly disagree with this opinion, especially before the inflow of AI
assisted PRs. It's actually quite the contrary, QGIS is so welcoming to new
contributors that we are starting to face issues with AI contributions!
Yes, sometimes PRs stay in the queue for too long, however reviews are
helpful and not dismissive.

It is sane and healthy to not treat core contributors or seasoned veterans
the same as newcomers. Core contributors are by definition trusted so they
can use the 'risky' tools. This is not gatekeeping in the same way that it
is not gatekeeping to limit commit rights to core contributors only. We
could still adapt this to requiring a minimum of let's say 50 merged PRs
before AI tools are allowed.

Of course, since this is not enforceable, practically anyone can still use
AI tools to review his code, or even generate new code and we won't know,
and that will be OK, as long as the code is good!
Overall SnR will be improved though, as anyone wanting to contribute will
need to put more effort into it.

Best
Stefanos

On Wed, 1 Apr 2026 at 14:47, Greg Troxel via QGIS-Developer <
qgis-developer at lists.osgeo.org> wrote:

> I should be clear that really I lean to "no AI contributions, at least
> for now" - the legal situation is unsettled, as is the social situation,
> and declining to engage while others figure it out seems best.
>
> What I really meant is that compared to where we are now, restricting
> contributions to those with a track record and human relationships is a
> positive incremental step.  However, I see the lack of equal treatment
> as a a bug.
>
>
> As for concern about new contributors and what amounts to "the kids
> these days just want to vibe code and if we aren't ok with that they
> won't play with us", I think that's ok to defer worrying about.  If
> that's really how it is, the Free Software world has much bigger
> problems well beyond the scope of any one project.
>
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