# Jakub T. Jankiewicz — all AI-generated code should be open source

> A developer argues that code written by AI belongs to everyone, because AI learned it from everyone.

- Org: Jakub T. Jankiewicz
- Date: 2026-11-13
- Category: article
- Source: https://jakub.jankiewicz.org/blog/ai-code-open-source/
- Canonical page: https://ai-tldr.dev/releases/jankiewicz-ai-generated-code-open-source/

## In short

Jakub T. Jankiewicz argues that all AI-generated code should be open source. Models learned from open code and Stack Overflow, he says, so closing their output is "license laundering", and purely AI-written code may not be copyrightable.

## What it is

Jakub T. Jankiewicz's essay 'All AI-generated code should be Open Source' argues that developers and companies should release AI-written code under open source licenses, or dedicate it to the public domain with CC0. The post reached 537 points on Hacker News within hours.

## How it works

The argument has two parts. First, models were trained on open source code and Stack Overflow answers, so turning that shared knowledge into closed code "feels like license laundering". Second, purely AI-generated code has no human author, so Jankiewicz says it should not be copyrightable, pointing to the Monkey Selfie case and Wikimedia Commons' policy.

## Why it matters

Copyright rules for AI output differ by country, and Jankiewicz sees open licensing as a simple way to make them consistent. He argues the case is strongest for code that a human barely reviewed or changed, which is a growing share of what coding agents produce.

## Who it's for

developers and companies shipping AI-written code

## Links

- [Essay](https://jakub.jankiewicz.org/blog/ai-code-open-source/)
- [HN Discussion](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50507303)