They can't clarify it.

If you say the quiet part out loud, the lemmings will take that as approval.

"Only thoughtful application of AI allowed" -> "Of course my usage of AI was thoughtful! My custom pi harness with 1M context project brain is very thoughtful!"

Not sure why you think this wouldn't be something they did on principle either though. Most open source projects are built on someone's personal principles: that's what motivates them to keep working.

(hence the recommendation someone's free to fork it and do the work themselves)