4 ms·

With things like Ghidra now freely available, "100% decompiled to C" really isn't that high of a bar anymore.

chii 1y ago
i think this sort of scenario is where an ai code comb through is going to add value - get an ai to guess the likely name of variables/functions based on usage and context etc. It'd make a great starting point for manually labelling each variable correctly.
- skerit 1y ago
  I'm using Ghidra with Claude-Code to reverse engineer an old transportation-sim game, and Claude is very good at figuring out what a function does and what it and its variables should be named.
- jonhohle 1y ago
  I’d argue using AI to provide that input is no longer a creative work and puts the output in the realm of being not transformative. Those are two of the main reasons these projects are not violating copyright and all of the legal risk that comes with decompiling.
  - chii 1y ago
    It's currently legally grey as to what ai output constitutes. I'd argue that copyright should not be affected by the tools being used. If the project would've been compliant with copyright (ala, fair use) had it used human hands, then using an ai tool makes zero difference.
    - jonhohle 1y ago
      USCO disagrees. Output of an LLM is not considered a new, original work. https://www.insidetechlaw.com/blog/2024/05/generative-ai-how-it-works-content-ownership-and-copyrights#:~:text=Perlmutter%252C%2520No.,%255D%2520will%2520not%2520register%2520it.%E2%80%9D&text=That%2520is%2520not%2520to%2520say,the%2520traditional%2520elements%2520of%2520authorship.%E2%80%9D https://www.insidetechlaw.com/blog/2024/05/generative-ai-how...
dlcarrier 1y ago
Usually it means it has bit-perfect recompilation, which can take a lot of work.
foldor 1y ago
This is very wrong. Ghidra might decompile to some C code, but this is a completely different, and very high bar. This is 100% matching C code that compiles to the exact binary the game shipped with. This means it's able to be modified, tweaked and upgraded. Ghidra is helpful to do some research, but it won't compile.
- userbinator 1y ago
  That's not what the parent comment said: "100% decompiled to C, but not fully labelled yet". Getting the exact same binary is definitely something else. Figuring out the exact compiler version and options, libraries, etc. is itself nontrivial.

chii 1y ago

i think this sort of scenario is where an ai code comb through is going to add value - get an ai to guess the likely name of variables/functions based on usage and context etc. It'd make a great starting point for manually labelling each variable correctly.

skerit 1y ago
I'm using Ghidra with Claude-Code to reverse engineer an old transportation-sim game, and Claude is very good at figuring out what a function does and what it and its variables should be named.
jonhohle 1y ago
I’d argue using AI to provide that input is no longer a creative work and puts the output in the realm of being not transformative. Those are two of the main reasons these projects are not violating copyright and all of the legal risk that comes with decompiling.
- chii 1y ago
  It's currently legally grey as to what ai output constitutes. I'd argue that copyright should not be affected by the tools being used. If the project would've been compliant with copyright (ala, fair use) had it used human hands, then using an ai tool makes zero difference.
  - jonhohle 1y ago
    USCO disagrees. Output of an LLM is not considered a new, original work. https://www.insidetechlaw.com/blog/2024/05/generative-ai-how-it-works-content-ownership-and-copyrights#:~:text=Perlmutter%252C%2520No.,%255D%2520will%2520not%2520register%2520it.%E2%80%9D&text=That%2520is%2520not%2520to%2520say,the%2520traditional%2520elements%2520of%2520authorship.%E2%80%9D https://www.insidetechlaw.com/blog/2024/05/generative-ai-how...

dlcarrier 1y ago

Usually it means it has bit-perfect recompilation, which can take a lot of work.

foldor 1y ago

This is very wrong. Ghidra might decompile to some C code, but this is a completely different, and very high bar. This is 100% matching C code that compiles to the exact binary the game shipped with. This means it's able to be modified, tweaked and upgraded. Ghidra is helpful to do some research, but it won't compile.

userbinator 1y ago
That's not what the parent comment said: "100% decompiled to C, but not fully labelled yet". Getting the exact same binary is definitely something else. Figuring out the exact compiler version and options, libraries, etc. is itself nontrivial.