Github Copilot is an AI pair programmer developed by GitHub and OpenAI to help programmers write code through auto-completion. It’s available for IDEs like Visual Studio Code, Neovim, and JetBrains. But with the right plugin, it can also work with IntelliJ IDEA.

This AI coding solution can turn natural language prompts into coding suggestions in a variety of languages. It uses the OpenAI Codex model to suggest code and functions in real time, right on the editor software.

How does it work?

When the user writes the comment, the docstring, or sometimes even just the function name or snippet, this AI coding assistant makes 10 suggestions for code blocks based on previous code and comments.

What can it do?

It can help junior developers learn a new language, framework, or even the basics of coding. Also, this AI code-writing assistant can be used to tackle bugs, speed up prototyping, and memoize.

What’s special about it?

Copilot is fast enough for developers to use as they type, quickly cycling through many lines of code and deciding what suggestion to accept, edit, or reject. Also, as it learns, it improves in accuracy.

A developer’s best friend

Copilot is an AI coding tool that divides opinions among developers. It’s a good enough AI programming solution that the system seems to read the user’s mind. But it may promote self-reliance. There is a risk that its widespread use may change the nature of the developer’s job from that of finding creative solutions to fixing faulty AI code.