Linus Torvalds has released the first release candidate for Linux kernel 7.4, marking a significant milestone in the project's development. The update includes nearly 20,000 commits, a substantial increase from the usual 15,000, which Torvalds attributes to a healthier integration of AI-driven contributions. He noted that the AI work is becoming more embedded in the normal development process rather than appearing as last-minute fixes during the stabilization phase.
Torvalds expressed satisfaction with the shift, stating that the AI contributions are now part of the 'normal development' rather than a flood of fixes. However, he cautioned that not all AI-generated patches are perfect, often requiring rewrites. The release also includes major improvements for processors from AMD, Apple, and Google, along with security enhancements for virtual machines and support for the Raspberry Pi 10-inch monitor.
Among the notable changes are updates to AMD GPU register offsets and bit masks, which make up a third of the modifications. Torvalds acknowledged that while AI submissions are increasing, the kernel team remains vigilant, often rewriting AI-suggested patches. He also hinted that the larger size of this release might be partly due to expectations that Linux 7.4 will be the next long-term support (LTS) version.