AI has taken the world by storm. And it’s moving at such a rapid pace, that we sometimes feel we cannot keep up with the news. Nowadays, 1 in 5 social media posts cover an AI-related subject. In fact, AI is proving to be the prodigy child, expected to grow by at least 30% each year, as an industry, for the next decade. Virtually every major company in the world is investing in AI right now. This was also the case of GitHub which in collaboration with OpenAI, developed Copilot, an extension for Visual Studio Code.

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Github Copilot provides suggestions for code completion, as well as whole lines or blocks of code, based on the context of the user’s code. Designed to assist developers in writing code faster and more efficiently, this AI-powered code completion tool is one of the most noteworthy findings in the field of software development.

History

Introduced in June 2021 as a result of the partnership between GitHub and OpenAI, the technology behind Copilot is primarily based on Codex, the powerful AI model designed by OpenAi to be used for programming tasks.

For those less informed, Codex is the smaller sibling model of GPT-4, that allows users to input natural language (text) and receive code as a response. The model can be applied to essentially any programming task.

Copilot was great in giving code suggestions, but it provided no easy way to ask questions. With the new function powered by Codex, Copilot offers a much richer programming experience, right in the code editor.

Benefits

GitHub Copilot offers several advantages to developers. First of all, it improves productivity by providing context-aware code suggestions. This way, Copilot reduces the time spent on writing repetitive code.

Second, Copilot can be a valuable learning tool for developers, especially those who are new to a particular programming language or framework, as it helps them understand best practices and syntax.

Third and the most important, Copilot is a great tool which can be used to reduce or eliminate errors. As Copilot provides code suggestions based on a vast corpus of code, it helps developers avoid common mistakes and improve overall code quality.

And because it supports a wide range of programming languages and frameworks, it is a versatile tool for developers working in various domains.

How to access it

To start using GitHub Copilot, you will need to have the GitHub Copilot extension installed from the Visual Studio Code marketplace. Simply sign in to your GitHub account from within the extension, open a code file or start a new project in Visual Studio Code and as you type the code, Copilot will automatically suggest code completions based on the context. To accept the suggestions, you will have to press the Tab or Enter key, or you can continue typing to see more suggestions.

GitHub Copilot offers a free plan with limited access to its AI-powered code suggestions. For developers who require more advanced features and support, GitHub offers a subscription plan called “GitHub Copilot Plus” priced at $20/month, which provides priority access to new features and faster response times.

Self-learning capabilities

GitHub Copilot is a constantly evolving AI model that learns from user interactions. As developers use Copilot and provide feedback on its suggestions, the model adapts and improves over time, becoming more accurate and context-aware. This continuous learning process helps Copilot stay up-to-date with the latest programming practices and trends.

Who is it for at this time? What databases does it use?

GitHub Copilot is designed for developers at all levels of expertise, from beginners to seasoned professionals. It is particularly useful for developers working in multiple programming languages or frameworks, as it provides support for a wide range of technologies.

Copilot’s knowledge is derived from a vast dataset of publicly available code, primarily from GitHub repositories. This dataset includes millions of lines of code, encompassing a diverse array of languages, libraries, and frameworks.

Conclusions

The incorporation of GPT technology into AI-supported coding is revolutionizing the way programmers create code, enhancing its quality, speed, and efficiency. What’s even more fascinating is that AI possesses the ability to self-learn. By analyzing its data, actions, and feedback, it can modify its behavior and continually improve its performance.

With the introduction of the cutting-edge GPT-4 model, this behavioral adaptation will occur at an astonishing pace. The majority of experts concur that we are approaching a stage where AI systems will surpass human capabilities in virtually all economically significant tasks, leading to profound impacts on our economies, societies, and even our species as a whole.

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