Linus Torvalds has posted the first release candidate for version 7. 4 of the Linux kernel and offered his opinion that the project has found a “much healthier model” for using AI. “This is a *BIG* merge window,” he wrote in his weekly state of the kernel update , as it contains almost 20,000 commits compared to the usual ~15,000 that developers submit for a new cut of the kernel. “I think the reason is the by now obvious one, but I’m actually taking it as a good sign: I’m *much* happier with the flood of AI triggered work going into the merge window than it showing up mainly as extra fixes during the -rc period.” He therefore hopes that the unusually large number of commits “is a sign that the AI fixes are becoming more part of the ‘normal development’ than a flood of fixes that go into the whole stabilization phase." “I think that’s a much healthier model,” he added, before hedging with the observation that “people are expecting 7…