rsyslog

The rocket-fast system for log processing

Clarifying “AI First” – What It Really Means for rsyslog

By Rainer GerhardsPosted on Posted in AI/ML

TL;DR:
The rsyslog project is embracing AI First (Human-Controlled) — AI is becoming an integral partner across development, documentation, user education, technical support, deployment guidance, and future observability tools. This does not mean “vibe coding” or letting AI run unsupervised. Instead, AI accelerates routine work, drafts ideas, and provides insights, while Rainer Gerhards — with decades of battle-tested experience in IT, system logging, and software engineering — and the team remain in full control of strategy, design, and quality.
AI is improving rapidly, and we foresee delegating larger tasks (even parts of code design) to AI over time — but always with humans setting direction and standards.

“AI First” reflects our strategy of embedding AI across the project, from code and docs to observability, always under human guidance and quality control.

What “AI First” Really Means

The term AI First is often misunderstood. For rsyslog, it means:

  • AI is a collaborative partner, not an autonomous actor.
  • We leverage AI where it’s strong (drafting documentation, proposing refactors, generating examples), but every deliverable is reviewed, validated, and approved by experienced maintainers.
  • We aim for faster innovation and better results without sacrificing the stability, security, or trustworthiness rsyslog is known for.
  • Over time, as AI tools improve, we expect to delegate more complex design and development tasks, but humans will always control the overall direction and quality standards.

Our Five Pillars of AI-Driven Collaboration

  1. Development & Design
    AI assists with code exploration, initial drafts of refactorings, and generating alternative approaches. However, all architecture, algorithms, and commits are decided by humans. We firmly reject any idea of “vibe coding” or blindly accepting AI-generated solutions.
  2. Documentation & User Education
    The rsyslog documentation had long lagged behind its technical sophistication — something that, frankly, turned potential users away. With AI, we’re now rewriting and restructuring content into something that is partly OK today, but far from done. We have a plan and will keep improving it through dedicated documentation sprints with the goal to make it really great.
  3. Technical Support & Community Interaction
    AI is powering the rsyslog Assistant (https://rsyslog.ai), helping users find quick, mostly reliable answers drawn from curated documentation. Human maintainers shape and improve the assistant’s knowledge to ensure accuracy.
  4. Deployment & Consulting Guidance
    When assisting customers, we can — if they agree — use AI to quickly identify best-fit configurations and solutions, while experienced humans remain in charge of reviewing and validating all outcomes.
  5. Observability & Log Intelligence
    Our future observability platform will include AI-assisted log analysis, anomaly detection, and insights. This is not about replacing humans but providing them with faster, more actionable information while keeping control and transparency.

In Summary

AI First (Human-Controlled) is about teamwork between humans and AI.
We believe AI will rapidly improve, allowing us to delegate larger tasks (even aspects of design), but the direction, decisions, and final quality control remain firmly in the hands of Rainer and the rsyslog team — professionals with decades of proven expertise in system logging and IT architecture.

We see AI as a way to unlock the next stage of rsyslog’s evolution: better docs, faster development, smarter observability, and more reliable support — all while staying true to our core principles of stability, transparency, and trust.

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