According to The Register AI and ML, Canonical has supported research work aimed at translating large volumes of C code into safe Rust using AI. The publication states that Bristol boffins have received funding to verify whether mature code retains its properties after machine conversion.
The practical intent of the project is to test the reliability of this approach on existing software rather than only on small demonstration examples. However, the available package contains no information regarding the size of the funding, specific systems, safety criteria, or obtained results.
editorial commentary
Why it matters
A likely consequence is the emergence of stricter criteria for evaluating automatic translation of mature code if the research yields measurable results. The next observable signals will be published details on methodology, code sets, and safety checks. Significant uncertainty remains: the source is available only as a meta-summary, so it is impossible to assess the quality of the approach or its readiness for practical application.