OSRF Adopts Policy on Use of Generative AI in Contributions

Written By Geoffrey Biggs

As the use of Generative AI tools becomes increasingly prevalent in software development, open-source projects face unique challenges and opportunities. These tools can enhance productivity, foster creativity, and streamline workflows, but they also raise important questions regarding ownership, licensing, attribution, and ethical use of generated content. As the OSRF’s open-source community embraces the capabilities of Generative AI, developing a comprehensive policy has become crucial. This will not only safeguard the integrity of the projects but also foster an inclusive and innovative environment for all contributors.

In response to requests from the community, the Open Source Robotics Alliance’s Technical Governance Committee (TGC) chartered a Technical Committee (TC). This TC investigated how other open source foundations and projects are approaching the unique challenges of Generative AI, and drafted a policy for the OSRF. The policy has now been reviewed and approved, and has been publicly posted in the OSRF’s Policies and Procedures repository. It is available in PDF form, and is also summarised below.

The OSRF allows the use of Generative AI tools in contributions (code, docs, etc.) but contributors are responsible for:

  • Understanding the tools and their limitations.

  • Ensuring the output is high-quality, original, and doesn't violate copyright.

  • Clearly disclosing the use of AI tools in their contributions.

  • Verifying the accuracy and appropriateness of AI-generated content.

Basically, use AI responsibly, be transparent, and make sure your contributions are still top-notch!

Geoffrey Biggs

Geoffrey Biggs is the CTO at the Open Source Robotics Foundation, where he leads the technical efforts of the OSRF, including both the open-source projects themselves (at an abstract level) and the work the OSRF performs to support those projects. Previously, he was a software engineer at Open Source Robotics Corporation, where he worked mainly on ROS and Open-RMF. Geoff has more than 20 years of experience working with and on open-source software, beginning with the Player Project. He is constantly looking for ways to convince the world that formal methods are great.

https://openrobotics.org
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