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PayPalThere's a bit of drama going on with the popular game manager Lutris right now, with users pointing out the developer using AI generated code via Anthropic's Claude.
Seems like something relevant to talk about, with AI tools being a huge cause of problems in the hardware industry. Like how the Steam Deck is constantly sold out and Valve can't even give us a price or release date of their upcoming hardware. All because these AI companies are sucking up all component manufacturing for their data centres. Every extra person using all these AI tools is only adding to the issue.
A user asked on the official Lutris GitHub two weeks ago "is lutris slop now" and noted an increasing amount of "LLM generated commits". To which the Lutris creator replied:
It's only slop if you don't know what you're doing and/or are using low quality tools. But I have over 30 years of programming experience and use the best tool currently available. It was tremendously helpful in helping me catch up with everything I wasn't able to do last year because of health issues / depression.
There are massive issues with AI tech, but those are caused by our current capitalist culture, not the tools themselves. In many ways, it couldn't have been implemented in a worse way but it was AI that bought all the RAM, it was OpenAI. It was not AI that stole copyrighted content, it was Facebook. It wasn't AI that laid off thousands of employees, it's deluded executives who don't understand that this tool is an augmentation, not a replacement for humans.
I'm not a big fan of having to pay a monthly sub to Anthropic, I don't like depending on cloud services. But a few months ago (and I was pretty much at my lowest back then, barely able to do anything), I realized that this stuff was starting to do a competent job and was very valuable. And at least I'm not paying Google, Facebook, OpenAI or some company that cooperates with the US army.
Anyway, I was suspecting that this "issue" might come up so I've removed the Claude co-authorship from the commits a few days ago. So good luck figuring out what's generated and what is not. Whether or not I use Claude is not going to change society, this requires changes at a deeper level, and we all know that nothing is going to improve with the current US administration.
Emphasis on that last part ours. Emphasised because it's a clear issue for a lot of people, so the developer has chosen to just hide what is and what isn't AI generated code. The Lutris creator expanded on that in a follow-up post elsewhere further defending their use of it from another user not happy about the situation.
The real problem, as pointed out by comments, is that part of the point of open source is trust. This is not a way to build that. Not just that but copyright becomes an issue. Who actually owns the generated code? And now it's being hidden, how can anyone tell? Can you even truly claim it's open source when it's using AI generated code?
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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That's a bold position to take in any project, let alone a FOSS project. And just because he can use it in non-slop manner (maybe? hopefully?) it doesn't absolve him of the ethical concerns many of us have about genAI.
Last edited by pb on 12 Mar 2026 at 10:57 am UTC
But I also think, that the Lutris developer, strycore, has valid points I can absolutely relate.
Classic dilemma. We will see...
But the most important statement is the one from GlorousEggroll there:
there is no real problematic issue reported here other than opinion.
If you dont have a real problem, dont open an ISSUE on an ISSUE tracker.
But there's a different problem that he did not mention: licensing. And for now determining under what license is certain code, especially the one generated by LLMs, is a mess. Trust is one thing (at least any notice would be appreciated), but the second thing is for this developer or other users of that code not to get into licensing mess.
soulsource 2 hours ago
Not just that but copyright becomes an issue. Who actually owns the generated code? And now it's being hidden, how can anyone tell?For reference: https://zomglol.wtf/@jamie/116059523957674208
fenglengshun 2 hours ago
Look, I get it, people use AI. I personally don't mind if he generates codes, checks it, rewrite it into something that fits with the rest of the code in the project. Others' lines might differ, but as long as the program didn't become slop, I am willing to tolerate it.
But this:
Anyway, I was suspecting that this "issue" might come up so I've removed the Claude co-authorship from the commits a few days ago. So good luck figuring out what's generated and what is not.Is absolutely the wrong way to handle it.
Although I do find it rather ironic that Lutris, in the same podcast, is claimed to be a platform for game preservation, and yet he uses AI, which Myrient (a game preservation site) has cited to be a reason why they're shutting down.
LordDaveTheKind 2 hours ago
Whether or not I use Claude is not going to change societyIf you then push that code in a GitHub repository, it definitely will, as AI is trained on GitHub repositories.
Quoting: pbHerein lies the problem with the society. "I'm just one person using the AI, even if I stop, it won't solve the bigger problem". Now substitute "using the AI" with "littering", "eating meat", "speeding", "parking in illegal spots", "not voting", "preordering games", "buying from companies known to exploit their employees" etc. etc. you get the point. We will be our own undoing.
Quoting: SzkodnixI partially agree with Lutris dev that those are indeed big companies just being a**holes and developing AI tools in an unethical way, and that hatred towards AI indeed starts getting out of hand with people complaining about AI in general at this point (including less popular models not developed by huge companies and some LLMs run locally). Guys, hate companies doing evil and stupid, not the tools that are neither good nor bad, as those are JUST TOOLS that you either use or not use. If those tools are useful or not in this form, that's a separate topic :DIdk man I’m not a big fan of weapons, do they have a right to exist? Questionable at best for 99% of them (like i can see why a huntsrifle exist, sure, but not a tomahawk missle). I agree it’s how we use the tools but if the tool is 1000% garbage in every way why use the tool if all it does is make you dumber?
But there's a different problem that he did not mention: licensing. And for now determining under what license is certain code, especially the one generated by LLMs, is a mess. Trust is one thing (at least any notice would be appreciated), but the second thing is for this developer or other users of that code not to get into licensing mess.
LLMs have some fields were they are probably a good addition and help (image recognition and OCR come to mind) but guessing code not so much.
The whole thing was going down hill anyway after they reworked the wine version management system a la auto downloading versions without my consent. F that sh1t.
Luckily, it's been a while since I last used "Lutris" and never on my latest computer. It looks like that won't change anytime soon.
federico_cba 1 hour ago
Quoting: scaine"I'm doing a thing people hate, so instead of not doing that, I'll continue to do it, but hide it better"You can use in a non-slop way, carefully reviewing the generated code and making adjustments and refactors. Something that he can do as an experienced developer. It would be different if he was blindly accepting the AI generated code.
That's a bold position to take in any project, let alone a FOSS project. And just because he can use it in non-slop manner (maybe? hopefully?) it doesn't absolve him of the ethical concerns many of us have about genAI.
gaboversta 1 hour ago
On a more serious note, I have not found myself using Lutris or tools like it (Heroic) in ages. As a library to launch titles from they don't work for me because the design does not suit my taste (trying really hard not to be mean to people who like to have their entire screen being taken up by rounded corners here). As a place to download the installers through they don't work for me because my accounts keep being logged out. As a tool to handle the configuration to make a game actually playable they don't work for me because the scripts, if present at all, keep being outdated or specific to some hard- or software I don't have -> simply don't work. As a tool to manage Linux native games they add no value for me as I still have to manually reinstall dependencies after a SteamOS update. And finally, even the add to Steam button doesn't work reliably.
More trouble than it's worth. Also grrrrr, AI!
When you think about it, what is the overlap between those objecting on AI for copyright reasons and those downloading roms or pirated games, seems to me that’s not a strong argument?
The ai models in question have been trained on existing works but nothing precludes using models trained on permissible works, these are already being developed (maybe available), so let’s push for better training ethics instead?
The energy argument is an argument for renewable energy, there is enough to power the world, I can find some links, we should push for energy ethics?
Code quality standards and checks don’t change just because of who or what wrote the code so are folks unhappy with the bugginess of the project?
Otherwise I think there is a reasonable argument to make that the dev needs more coding resource than the community provides. Think people can disagree with that and support the project but just because ai is used in a process doesn’t mean vibe coded slop, the dev clearly understands the codebase so can safeguard code quality.
Last edited by cloudseer on 12 Mar 2026 at 12:05 pm UTC
I used Lutris until I discovered Heroic and haven't looked back. Heroic isn't perfect, but it's developed by people who listen to user feedback and actually made it a pretty good experience (and I believe even have a partnership with GOG!). Lutris dev in my experience look at github issues and around online always seemed a bit caustic to me so I didn't engage much there either.
In a way, sad it's gone this path as it's one less option, but I think there was a track record that showed this could eventually happen.
Hopefully someone will fork it or some more projects pop-up, variety is the spice of life after all.
And at least I'm not paying Google, Facebook, OpenAI or some company that cooperates with the US army.But Anthropic is working with the US military, Claude is being used for the war right now...
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/us-military-using-ai-help-plan-iran-air-attacks-sources-say-lawmakers-rcna262150
I'm not looking for a political discussion, I'm just pointing out the claim is false.
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