Open Source as We Know It Is Dead
4 hours ago
- The author recounts their personal history with open source, starting with GitHub in 2011, and emphasizes that the community and human connections were what made it special.
- Open source contributions used to be a signal of genuine effort and trust, but AI-generated PRs have overwhelmed maintainers with low-quality, automated submissions.
- Maintainers are increasingly closing external contributions (e.g., Sindre Sorhus, Hono, Ladybird) due to the flood of AI slop, shifting the cost from contributors to reviewers.
- The author admits to using AI themselves but notes that the cost of reviewing AI-generated PRs is disproportionately high, leading to burnout and closed doors.
- There is no clear fix; the trend may lead to smaller, invitation-only circles, which would exclude passionate newcomers like the author once was.