This headline is totally misleading. If you actually read what Torvalds says, he says he isn't really a kernel coder anymore, he simply aggregates the work of others. And his use of AI, at least from what he's saying now, is for personal "toy" projects.
He certainly feels that AI is a useful tool, at least for his purposes, but nowhere does he state that he is "using AI to develop Linux kernel code."
What Torvalds said: "The code, the test programs, the review behind the list above and the first draft of this text were done with an LLM coding assistant (Claude Code) under my direction.” It sure sounds like he's using AI to develop kernel code to me.