Linus Torvalds Credits AI with Solving a "Debug Session from Hell"
Linux creator Linus Torvalds relied on an AI assistant to unravel a notoriously stubborn operating system bug.
Even the most legendary software developers hit brick walls. In a recent commit — an official record of changes made to a software project's source code — Linux creator Linus Torvalds gave unusual credit to AI for helping him resolve what he described as a "debug session from hell."
Torvalds was tracking down a nasty kernel bug, a low-level flaw causing system instability under specific edge cases. Instead of wrestling with log files in isolation, he used an AI model as an interactive sounding board to systematically test theories and inspect subtle code interactions.
And this was a debug session from hell, enormously helped by an AI.
While Torvalds has historically voiced skepticism about overhyped tech trends, his endorsement highlights how conversational AI excels at debugging — the process of finding and removing hidden mistakes in complex logic.
What this means for you as a builder
You do not need decades of technical experience to benefit from AI rubber-ducking. Whenever your automation flow breaks or returns an unexpected error, paste the exact inputs, outputs, and logic into your AI agent and ask it to find edge cases you might have overlooked.