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GitHub Copilot

copilot.github.com

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Re: GitHub Copilot

#691

Post by nemetroid »

cbsks wrote: post #398

I don't think we need to start looking for new career paths yet. This example has a few bugs and it took me longer to track them down than it would have to write it myself: #!/bin/bash # List all python source files which are more than 1KB and contain the word "copilot". find . \ -name "*.py" \ -size +1000 \ -exec grep -n copilot {}\; "-exec grep -n copilot {}\;" needs to have a space before the semicolon otherwise f…

It also doesn't list the files. It prints all matching lines (and their line numbers), without the corresponding filenames.

Re: GitHub Copilot

#692

Post by reader_mode »

staticassertion wrote: post #437
inimino wrote: post #385

I'm amazed to see how positive the overall response is to this idea. Almost as if programmers think that writing programs is the worst part of the job and ready to be automated away. As someone more aligned with the Dijkstra perspective, this seems to me like one of the single worst ideas I've ever seen in this domain. We already have IDEs and other tools leading to an increase in boilerplate and the acceptance of it…

> Almost as if programmers think that writing programs is the worst part of the job and ready to be automated away. writing the programs is definitely boring garbage work. Typing is so slow and annoying - hence autocomplete being a standard tool. This is, to me, just fancy autocomplete. > to an increase in boilerplate and the acceptance of it because they make it easier to manage. Boilerplate optimizes for the right…

>Boilerplate optimizes for the right things - code that's easier to read and analyze, but takes longer to write.

This is wrong and the same retarded logic Java used to defend not introducing var and similar features for ages. Boilerplate is usually noise around the actual logic - it's a result of limited abstractions. When you're repeating same code over and over you raise that segment to a separate concept, that's how abstraction and high level programming works - it increases readability and maintainability. Being easier to type has nothing to do with it.

Re: GitHub Copilot

#693

Post by ionwake »

I get the impression the only way to use this is in a github cloud environment, which means all the code you type will essentially belong to github in some capacity?

Re: GitHub Copilot

#694

Post by wolverine876 »

xna wrote: post #167
natfriedman wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We think that software development is entering its third wave of productivity change. The first was the creation of tools like compilers, debuggers, garbage collectors, and languages that made developers more productive. The second was open source where a global community of developers came together to build on each other's work. The third revolution will be the use of AI in coding. The problems we spend our days sol…

Let's solve the problem of replacing CEOs next. The above paragraph could have been written by GPT-3 already.

natfriedman is a human being like you and me, not an AI; let's treat them with consideration for that.

Re: GitHub Copilot

#695

Post by dannywarner »

This is a great use of the OpenAI Codex. It's fast in VS Code. My early impression is that the more popular the language the better it does. So Javascript is almost magic and something like Rust still useful. I'm looking forward to using it more.

Re: GitHub Copilot

#696

Post by heavyset_go »

nindalf wrote: post #579
anyonecancode wrote: post #566

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wonder how long it will be until someone sets up the rest of the feedback loop and starts putting up github projects made of nothing but code from this tool, and it can start to feed on itself. This is my actual hoped-for endgame for the ad based internet. At some point Twitter, FB, etc will be exclusively populated by bots that post ads, and bots that simulate engagement with those ads to drive up perceived valu…

I invite you to try automating this and let us know what happens. Try creating, let’s say 1000 accounts and try liking or posting and see what happens. I’ve seen that system at work and doubt you’d get very far. More than that, you misunderstand how advertisers prioritise their money. They pay for outcomes. If they notice that over the past couple of months they’ve been receiving mostly bot traffic, they stop adverti…

> I invite you to try automating this and let us know what happens. Try creating, let’s say 1000 accounts and try liking or posting and see what happens. I’ve seen that system at work and doubt you’d get very far.

Yes, naive attempts at manipulation will be detected these days on big platforms. 5+ years ago such naive attempts were successful, though. A few years ago I made a proof of concept to show how easy it is to make new Reddit accounts and automate them, and had registered hundreds of accounts. Those logins still work even though Reddit has cracked down on naive automation attempts.

Today, that's why many firms buy real users' accounts. They'll hire people to manually login to the accounts and post. There's also the perpetual cat and mouse game between bot creators and platform owners, and the platform owners who benefit from the appearance of increased growth and engagement that's actually just bot activity.

Re: GitHub Copilot

#699

Post by jgworks »

billti wrote: post #688
iandanforth wrote: post #619

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the licensing for code generated in this way? GPT-3 has memorized hundreds of texts verbatim and can be prompted to regurgitate that text. Has this model only been trained on code that doesn't require attribution as part of the license?

The landing page for it states the below, so hopefully not too much of an issue (though I guess some folks may find a 0.1% risk high). > GitHub Copilot is a code synthesizer, not a search engine: the vast majority of the code that it suggests is uniquely generated and has never been seen before. We found that about 0.1% of the time, the suggestion may contain some snippets that are verbatim from the training set.

I'd be surprised if a company's legal department would be OK with that 0.1% risk.

Re: GitHub Copilot

#700

Post by gervwyk »

"Software eats world" just got more real. Funny that programmers thought they were eating the world with software, now, software has eaten them.
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