The Impact of AI on Developer Productivity: Evidence from GitHub Copilot - Microsoft Research
The Impact of AI on Developer Productivity: Evidence from GitHub Copilot
- Sida Peng ,
- Eirini Kalliamvakou ,
- Peter Cihon ,
- Mert Demirer
February 2023
arXiv
Generative AI tools hold promise to increase human productivity. This paper presents results from a controlled experiment with GitHub Copilot, an AI pair programmer. Recruited software developers were asked to implement an HTTP server in JavaScript as quickly as possible. The treatment group, with access to the AI pair programmer, completed the task 55.8% faster than the control group. Observed heterogenous effects show promise for AI pair programmers to help people transition into software development careers.
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