Reports warn users to be cautious when utilizing code-generating tools such as copilot as they could be of more hindrance than actual help.
Reports Warn Users to Be Cautious When Utilizing Code-Generating Tools
New research by a group of Stanford-affiliated researchers has found out that code-generating AI tools such as GitHub copilot can present more security risks to users than many may have initially realized.
The study in question targeted Codex specifically which is a product of OpenAI, of which Elon Musk as you should know is one and among the co-founders.
Codex as you should have known by now powers the GitHub Copilot platform which is owned by Microsoft. This platform is designed to make coding easy and more accessible simply by translating natural language into code and then suggesting changes to users based on contextual evidence.
Neil Perry, who is the lead co-author of the study, explains that “code-generating systems are currently not a replacement for human developers.”
How the Study Was Carried Out
The study in question asked 47 developers of separate abilities to make use of Codex for security-related issues, using Python, JavaScript, and C programming languages. It then concluded that the participants of the study who relied on Codex were much more likely to write insecure code in contrast with a control group.
Perry further explained: “Developers using [coding tools] to complete tasks outside of their own areas of expertise should be concerned, and those using them to speed up tasks that they are already skilled at should carefully double-check the outputs and the context that they are used in in the overall project.”
AI-Powered Coding Tools Facing Criticism and Scrutiny
This is not the first time that AI-powered coding tools have come under criticism and scrutiny. One of GitHub’s solutions to improve the code quality in Copilot, in fact, saw the Microsoft-owned company face legal action for failing to attribute the work of other developers on its platform. The result, therefore, was a $9 billion lawsuit for 3.6 million individual Section 1202 violations.
AI-Powered Code-Generating Tools May Soon Replace Traditional Trading
AI-powered code-generating tools for now are best known as a helping hand that can help to speed up programming rather than just an all-out replacement. But if the development over the past couple of years is anything to take seriously, then it just might be that they soon may be replacing traditional coding.
