RPCS3 updates its contribution guidelines after AI-generated 'slop' pull requests caused regressions in the PS3 emulator

PlayStation 3 emulator RPCS3 is pushing back against a wave of AI-generated code submissions to its open-source GitHub project. The team has updated its guidelines and now requires contributors to fully understand and own the code they submit, even if AI was used during the research process.

The new rules arrived just a day after the team posted on the social media platform X, pushing back against the barrage of AI pull requests hitting the project. RPCS3 reported having to revert multiple "slop PRs" that slipped through and caused major regressions in the emulator, requiring significant extra work from the team to fix.

The updated guidelines do not ban AI-generated code outright but require contributors to disclose any use of AI and take full responsibility for what they submit. All communications with the RPCS3 team must be handled by a human contributor, and pull requests that do not disclose AI use may be closed without review.

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"Please stop submitting AI slop code pull requests to RPCS3. We will start banning those who do without disclosing," the official RPCS3 account wrote. "There are plenty of resources online to learn how to debug and code instead of generating slop that you don't understand and that doesn't work."

The core problem, as the team sees it, is that many people submitting AI-generated code lack the experience to spot bugs and other issues. This poor-quality code introduces new bugs, causes performance issues, and creates extra work for developers. The team drew a distinction between experienced developers who use LLMs to automate repetitive refactoring and the kind of submissions it has been seeing lately, noting bluntly: "You can't possibly handwrite the type of sh*t AI slop we have been seeing."

As you can imagine, the pushback drew backlash from pro-AI accounts, but the RPCS3 team doesn't really seem to care, arguing that it "reached maturity with 70% playable games" several years ago, before LLMs became a thing. It even called out the critics, saying, "As for all the AI bros seething on our socials, we're simply blocking you." And added, "Learn how to debug, code, and leave behind something useful to humanity when you're gone, instead of peddling slop."

It is worth noting that nobody on the RPCS3 team is paid for their work. The project is entirely passion-driven, and that passion has produced significant achievements, particularly this year's feat of emulating the notoriously complex Cell CPU architecture. The new guidelines do not appear to be an attack on AI as a tool. Instead, they read more like a straightforward request for contributors to respect the project, understand the code they submit, and avoid wasting the team's time with untested or unverified pull requests.