AI decompilation madness or revolution?

[Nicolaus_von_Kues]

Not only are they decompiling it to remake it, but I've seen that they're mixing games.

They're even porting titles to other older consoles.

 

 

 

 

Edited yesterday at 03:37 by Nicolaus_von_Kues

[Nicolaus_von_Kues]

Things are moving very fast.

 

[Nicolaus_von_Kues]

https://github.com/morluto/rea

REA (Reverse Engineer Anything) is an open-source TypeScript CLI and MCP server that gives AI coding agents one consistent way to investigate software they do not have the source for. You point your agent at an app, ask how a feature works, and REA lets it decompile the binary, follow the code between functions, and show the evidence behind its explanation. The project describes the workflow in three steps: decompile, understand, recreate.

 

Deep native analysis runs through Hopper or a Ghidra installation you supply, on macOS and Linux, with an experimental Ghidra-only path for native x86-64 Windows applications. REA installs and manages Hopper for you (its free demo mode is supported), while the Ghidra adapter runs read-only and exposes inventory, decompilation, assembly, cross-references, call graphs and function dossiers. Beyond native binaries it covers managed PE/CLI triage, passive observation of websites, Electron pages and Node/Electron V8 Inspector sessions, JavaScript and source-map reconstruction, and controlled process capture

[scr0llbaer]

Programming languages are for humans. Computers already do machine code, so no need to "decompile" to understand. "AI" doesn't need human-readable programming languages either. Although LLMs are based on neural networks ("how human brain works"), they nowadays probably were trained on enough native machine code as well. So what "AI" nowadays does is providing more "bridges" for humans.

[Grautvornix]

O tempora o mores!

While all this appears phantastic at first glance, it is also raising quite some concerns - who would take the endeavour of inventing and creating a complex tool or an app anymore if it is decompiled and recreated so (relatively) easily? Why should anyone develop anything serioulsy if it cannot be sold but rather easily copied/recreated. All the beautiful services around a product (the Red Hat model?) can probably also be implemented by AI soon.

All this is not only about the invested effort for the "coding" itself but also all the real software solution engineering, from specification and definition to design, testing and documentation that is now being copied and "harvested" quite easily. I know: because it is possible it will happen anyway. I just expect another round in the fight for IPR protection etc.

No solution in sight as it seems.

Sorry for the rant.

[Grautvornix]

Actually - the only protection large softeware houses I can image to have against decompilation/re-creation is to ship only a small loader and GUI frontend and provide all other functionality exlusively online. Even then there will be ways to reverse engineer fucntionality from screen videos.

[Nicolaus_von_Kues]

4 hours ago, scr0llbaer said:

Programming languages are for humans. Computers already do machine code, so no need to "decompile" to understand. "AI" doesn't need human-readable programming languages either. Although LLMs are based on neural networks ("how human brain works"), they nowadays probably were trained on enough native machine code as well. So what "AI" nowadays does is providing more "bridges" for humans.

Obviously, it needs human intervention to be great.

Having an idea of how something works will serve a passionate mind or group of enthusiasts very well.

[scr0llbaer]

21 hours ago, Nicolaus_von_Kues said:

Obviously, it needs human intervention to be great.

Having an idea of how something works will serve a passionate mind or group of enthusiasts very well.

Sure, just commenting on a technicality that might be a common misconception or just a "never thought about that"-thing.

22 hours ago, Grautvornix said:

Actually - the only protection large softeware houses I can image to have against decompilation/re-creation is to ship only a small loader and GUI frontend and provide all other functionality exlusively online. Even then there will be ways to reverse engineer fucntionality from screen videos.

Who cares about those "large software houses", they were ruining gaming. I don't follow and I don't care about modern gaming much, I'm into retro and open source.

About this "AI decomp revolution" in general: Both a curse and a blessing. Back then, music could suddenly be produced in the bedroom, rather than just in expensive studios. So, lots of "slop" in many people's eyes (or ears) back then too. But you don’t have to - and you don’t need to - consume everything that comes out.

Even as an experienced programmer, you often don’t have the time or the inspiration to indulge in developing some hobbyist retro projects in your free time. That’s easier now. Projects often lie dormant for years because you’ve hit a roadblock somewhere or would have to put in a lot of work to overcome a certain technical hurdle, so you end up procrastinating. This can now be largely overcome "thanks" to "AI".

On the other hand, of course, it also opens the floodgates to endless slop and half-finished, unpolished stuff which initially is touted with great enthusiasm. Development is 20%, maintenance / quality assurance / project management is 80% - and many “vibe coders” either lack the motivation, the skills, the experience, or all of that.

One solution might be curation - regularly showcasing good projects that are truly worth checking out. Many retro sites have always tried to cover everything that comes out, but that might not work anymore.

What I’d like to see is a specific project - a piece of software or an app, similar to a launcher - that contains a library of consistently well-curated picks of “Decomps” and the like.

Edited 1 hour ago by scr0llbaer