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Discussion on: Augmented Programming with GitHub's Copilot

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thorstenhirsch profile image
Thorsten Hirsch

I don't understand your concerns. The programmer is responsible for all of his code, no matter if he wrote it himself, copy&pasted it from SO, or injected it with Copilot:

  • he needs to understand it
  • he needs to test it
  • he needs to debug it

Good programmers might improve their speed in early stages of projects, when a lot of simple code can be written. But at later stages Copilot won't be of much use. And bad programmes will likely produce more bad code in a shorter time, but Copilot won't make them good programmes.

I see a bigger issue in the copyright of the injected code, because it lets developers skip the (legally mandatory) step, in which he/she has to check the license.

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glsolaria profile image
G.L Solaria • Edited

I think my criticisms come down to how much code it actually injects. If it is just an advanced code completion technology then I agree with you. If however it is injecting more than say 4 to 5 lines of code then I stand by my concerns.

Also if it is targeted at training new coders then I would like to know what code is injected to make sure they actually understand the code and have tested it appropriately.