Debian’s community voted to permit contributors to use generative AI tools in their work, provided they ensure code quality. The vote, which involved ranking eight proposals, attracted nearly 600 participants but only about 450 votes were counted after some ballots were rejected. Proposal E, titled “Responsible Use of Generative AI,” was adopted. The policy states that Debian neither endorses nor prohibits AI use in software development, maintenance, documentation or other published materials. It requires contributors to review, test and, where needed, modify AI‑generated output before inclusion, and makes clear that AI errors are not an excuse for poor quality. Optional disclosure of AI assistance is encouraged but not mandatory. The decision aligns with practices in other open‑source projects: Gentoo has banned AI use, while NetBSD and OpenBSD avoid AI‑written contributions. Linus Torvalds, creator of Linux, has publicly supported AI tools, noting he used them to resolve a bug, though he has also criticized AI‑generated bug reports for overwhelming mailing lists.