On 2026-02-20 20:54, Theodore Tso wrote: > As another hypothetical thought experiment, suppose the problem is to > optimize a program which has a bubble sort, and a human programmer is > asked to optimize it by replacing it with a quick sort. > > There are only so many different ways to code the quick sort algorithm > in C, and it's likely that the human being might even be vaguely > remembering how they saw it done in some non-free source code (for > example, in Sedgewick's Algorithms book) and perhaps, subconsciously > reproduced it from some non-free source that they ocne saw. I argued similar in problem #2 here [1].
Whether consciously or subconsciously, all the code that we've read has influenced code that we've written, even if those individual influences might have been minuscule. To my understanding, there is an ocean between minuscule influences, and and work a being a derivative of work B. Or, to use a practical example: When I design some Python class hierarchy, that design will be influenced by all of the experience I have accrued reading or using other hierarchies. But unless I copy a specific one, I don't think anyone would argue that my work is a derivative (in the legal sense) of all those other examples. Why should this be different for an LLM? Best, Christian [1]: https://lists.debian.org/debian-project/2026/02/msg00102.html
