While GitHub Copilot is facing a lawsuit and controversy, Microsoft is continuing to develop the auto-code service. I recently reported on the company's over-arching goals for AI-driven automated code suggestions through Copilot. Furthermore, Microsoft is also working on a new experimental feature that will bring voice activation to Copilot.
Known as “Hey GitHub,” the feature is essentially a personal assistant of sorts that will allow users to perform tasks with voice commands.
“With the power of your voice, we're excited about the potential to bring the benefits of GitHub Copilot to even more developers, including developers who have difficulty typing using their hands,” GitHub says in a blog post.
“‘Hey, GitHub!‘” only reduces the need for a keyboard when coding within VS Code for now, but we hope to expand its capabilities through further research and testing.”
Abilities
Users who want to try a technical preview of the new tool can signal their interest via the signup waitlist. Joining the preview allows you to code on GitHub Copilot using your voice and not a keyboard. GitHub says the tool understands natural language.
Other abilities of Hey, GitHub! Include code navigation and VisualStudio Code commands such as “run the program” and more
It is worth noting the feature is currently experimental and in preview, so there may be some bugs in the experience.
Microsoft first introduced GitHub Copilot in 2021 and has been previewing the service since. It costs $10 per month or $100 per year (per user). GitHub Copilot runs on a new AI platform developed by OpenAI known as Codex. Copilot is designed to help programmers across a wide range of scenarios and frameworks.
Copilot gives access to code archives users can access to plug gaps or fill in areas of their code. To do this, it takes code from the GitHub archive from public repositories.
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