Microsoft-owned AI-based coding assistant GitHub unveiled ‘Github Copilot for Business’ following its testing phase, which started in December last year. At $19/month, the tool is now available for public use. 

Click here to check it out.

“GitHub Copilot for Business is now available, as we bring the world’s first at-scale AI developer tool to any organization,” said Microsoft chief Satya Nadella.

Key Features of ‘Copilot for Business’

• Better Code: Advanced modelling techniques raise the standard of code recommendations. GitHub Copilot automatically rejects frequent insecure code proposals by focusing on problems like route injections, SQL injections, and hardcoded credentials.
• Privacy-focused: Developers can use GitHub Copilot in any office setting because it supports VPNs and self-signed certificates.

Dark Side of Tech Meets the Shady World of Capitalism

When tech meets capitalism, it harms the open-source community and while GitHub encourages collaboration, it can be at the expense of revenue.

Although GitHub claims that it has improved its privacy features, it recently came under fire for engaging in widespread “software piracy“, thereby alienating the creator’s personal touch from their work. GitHub Copilot monetises the work fast, leading to companies becoming heavily dependent on the service and churning large profits.

Although GitHub’s own “research” claims that their tool increases productivity by 55%, there is no independent study that concurs with their conclusion. Given that a significant quantity of code is being stolen, the adoption rate for GitHub Copilot is troubling. Furthermore, because GPT-3 powers GitHub Copilot, there is a risk of bias reinforcement because the tool is unable to distinguish between biased and unbiased algorithms.

Github’s contemporaries BitBucket and Jira require premium subscriptions, but they ensure repository privacy.