96% of codebases rely on open source, and AI slop is putting them at risk
AI-generated slop is overwhelming open source maintainers with low-quality pull requests. Here's how projects are fighting back with policies and new tools.

Mar 29th, 2026 6:00am
by Bill Doerrfeld

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Some projects, like Jazzband, have been forced to sunset altogether. Jannis Leidel, the lead maintainer and Python Software Foundation chairperson, writes that the “flood of AI-generated spam PRs and issues” made his project unsustainable.

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For example, Rémi Verschelde, who oversees the open source Godot game engine, shares on BlueSky that dealing with AI slop is “draining and demoralizing.” Other project maintainers report growing apathy and wasted time responding to the deluge.

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Generating clean, readable, and maintainable code remains difficult. Low-effort AI contributions require a disproportionate time to evaluate and respond to, decreasing morale and potentially drowning out high-value submissions.

Security risks are another concern. “AI-generated contributions can introduce subtle vulnerabilities, poorly understood dependencies, or incomplete fixes that expand the attack surface,” adds Anaconda’s Croce.

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