The DCO Debate: Who Is Responsible for AI-Generated Code?

Matteo Collina, author of a 19,000-line Virtual File System PR for Node.js built with Claude Code, addresses the debate over whether AI-assisted contributions can satisfy the Developer Certificate of Origin (DCO). He argues that the DCO has always been about contributor accountability, not the tools used to write code. The Linux kernel community, Red Hat's legal team, and the OpenJS Foundation all agree: AI doesn't break the DCO as long as a human reviews the code, discloses AI assistance, and takes full responsibility. The real operational shift AI brings is moving the bottleneck from writing code to reviewing it. The Node.js TSC is expected to vote on disclosure practices, with an 'Assisted-by' tag model similar to the Linux kernel's approach being a likely outcome.