Another Reason why I love OpenBSD

Recently there was an ongoing discussion on the openbsd-tech mailing list regarding patches generated from a GenAI project. I find the discussion and the project itself interesting and worthwhile. Although, I do also have a different view of how the current GenAI can add security and especially for projects like OpenBSD.

Anyway, as part of this discussion, Theo de Raadt wrote the following:

I think the important thing to understand about complex software is that it must be humanly comprehensible.

Once abstractions levels become too grand (via human or automation efforts), no human will put effort into understanding how the pieces fit together, or put further effort into mutating the software to do some new future thing.

So in this conversation, 10,000 extra chunks of code – we have a choice between automation which will evict the human interest, or humans who won’t accept automation that will evict their future interest.

One additional point. This project has always been founded on keeping patches minimal, explainable, etc. That’s 10,000 patches which will need to be submitted in very small bundles, and trying to keep the attention of reviewers.

Oh, review isn’t neccessary? Amazing. How did we ever get to this point.

This is another reason why I love OpenBSD, support the project, and trust the project. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against GenAI (or whatever buzzword you want to use), and definitely not against using the newest technologies. And I’m pretty sure, that the OpenBSD project will also benefit from it, for example by using GenAI to find potential bugs as an addition to tools like valgrind.

But there is also something reassuring and beautiful regarding what Theo said:

• Keeping it as simple as possible, so that humans can still understand
• OpenBSD is a project for humans, for them to be interested in, to be motivated in spending their valuable time in
• OpenBSD isn’t in it to take over the world, to be a competitor to Microsoft, et al.

It’s not about the bigger, faster, more, more, more.. Or how Helene and Frederic Laloux put it: “The story of more”

It’s from people for people.

It’s to sit back, and take time, trial and error, tinker, get things right, think outside the box.

It’s to stay true to it’s values and visions and goals