AI agents cannot add Signed-off-by tags: Only humans can legally certify the Linux kernel's Developer Certificate of Origin (DCO). This is the legal mechanism that ensures code licensing compliance. In other words, even if you turned in a patch that was written entirely by AI, you, and not the AI or its creator, are solely responsible for the contribution.

Mandatory Assisted-by attribution: Any contribution using AI tools must include an Assisted-by tag identifying the model, agent, and auxiliary tools used. For example: "Assisted-by: Claude:claude-3-opus coccinelle sparse."

Full human liability: Put it all together, and you, the human submitter, bear full responsibility and accountability for reviewing the AI-generated code, ensuring license compliance, and for any bugs or security flaws that arise. Do not try to sneak bad code into the kernel, as a pair of University of Minnesota students tried back in 2021, or you can kiss your chances of ever becoming a Linux kernel developer or programmer in any other respectable open-source project goodbye.

The Assisted-by tag serves as both a transparency mechanism and a review flag. It enables maintainers to give AI-assisted patches the extra scrutiny they may require without stigmatizing the practice itself.