Dear Debian community,
This is bits from the DPL for May.
Interpretation of DFSG on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Models
=============================================================
First of all, I would like to thank Mo Zhou for the extensive work on
drafting a General Resolution titled "Interpretation of DFSG on
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Models"[ai01]. He dedicated a significant
amount of time and effort to preparing this proposal, engaging in early
discussions and gathering feedback long before bringing it to the
project. Despite this thorough preparation, the unfolding discussion
quickly revealed just how deep and multifaceted the issue really is.
Choice 1 was titled: "AI models released under open source license
without original training data or program are not seen as
DFSG-compliant".
The discussion had many dimensions:
* Practical implications, such as what packages might become
uninstallable or instantly RC-buggy [ai02][ai03];
* Technical concerns, including the feasibility of distributing very
large files across Debian infrastructure;
* Ethical considerations, such as how to weigh the rights of those
whose data may have been used for training.
Throughout the conversation, there appeared to be two broad currents of
thought: one emphasizing pragmatism, and the other focused more on
ethical principles. Russ Allbery perhaps captured this tension best when
he wrote[ai04]: "We absolutely should base our rules on what's best for
human beings, not corporate constructs. That is the entire point of the
free software movement."
Two alternative proposals were developed—one by Thorsten Glaser[ai05],
and another by Sam Hartman[ai06]—but it became clear that no broad
consensus had yet emerged within the community.
Recognizing this, Mo Zhou has withdrawn the original proposal [ai07],
and Sam Hartman has withdrawn his alternative proposal as well [ai08].
This topic is far from resolved, but that’s not a failure—it’s a sign of
just how new and difficult this territory is. To continue the discussion
productively, I suggest that we meet in person at DebConf (with a remote
participation option), to work on a revised and better-informed draft,
in order to do more groundwork on preparing the discussion and start to
explore alternatives. These are questions we must address as a project,
and doing so will take both time and collective effort.
[ai01] https://www.debian.org/vote/2025/vote_002
[ai02] https://lists.debian.org/debian-vote/2025/04/msg00114.html
[ai03] https://lists.debian.org/debian-vote/2025/04/msg00113.html
[ai04] https://lists.debian.org/debian-vote/2025/05/msg00137.html
[ai05] https://lists.debian.org/debian-vote/2025/04/msg00118.html
[ai06] https://lists.debian.org/debian-vote/2025/05/msg00027.html
[ai07] https://lists.debian.org/debian-vote/2025/05/msg00105.html
[ai08] https://lists.debian.org/debian-vote/2025/05/msg00111.html
SPI Report
==========
SPI is issuing yearly reports about its activities[sp01]. I have
submitted the following report for Debian which should be available
from the SPI website soon:
During 2024, the Debian project continued to grow and evolve, thanks
to the dedication of its large volunteer community and contributors
from around the world.
We made substantial progress toward Debian 13 ("Trixie"), with key
foundational changes implemented during the year. Most notably, we
completed the transition to 64-bit time_t on 32-bit architectures,
preparing Debian for the Year 2038 and ensuring long-term platform
viability. In addition, the long-running effort to merge /usr—unifying
system directory layouts—was finalized, simplifying package maintenance
and bringing Debian in line with other major distributions.
In line with our release management practices, we published regular
point releases for both Debian 11 ("bullseye") and Debian 12
("bookworm"). These updates included important security fixes and bug
fixes to improve the reliability of our stable distributions.
We welcomed 22 new Debian Developers and 30 new Debian Maintainers in
2024. These new contributors help ensure the sustainability and
diversity of our project, and we’re excited to see many of them already
actively engaging across teams and packaging efforts.
The Debian community remained vibrant, with a successful DebConf24 held
in Busan, South Korea. This was accompanied by several MiniDebConfs
around the globe, continuing our effort to reach contributors and users
worldwide.
For regular updates and news about what’s going on in the Debian
project, visit the "Bits from Debian" blog and follow us on the
Fediverse and other platforms.
Submitted by Andreas Tille
[sp01] https://spi-inc.org/corporate/annual-reports/
Kind regards
Andreas.
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