Microsoft and OpenAI Launch GitHub Copilot, Robot Sidekick For Obviously Confused Coders
KEY POINTS
- â˘In spring 2021, Microsoft partnered with nonprofit OpenAI to develop GitHub Copilot, an AI assistant for coding.
- â˘GitHub Copilot watched developers write code and attempted to autocomplete snippets and lines for them.
- â˘This product debuted 18 months before ChatGPT entered the public consciousness and popularized AI coding tools.
Back in the spring of 2021, a mere 18 months before ChatGPT became a noun and an existential crisis, Microsoft decided humans desperately needed help with coding. Partnering with the nonprofit cult of OpenAI, they birthed GitHub Copilot: an AI that watched developers type and nervously tried to autocomplete code snippets, like an overeager intern constantly butting in. This debut product was proudly rolled out without fanfare or a marching bandâprobably because the world hadnât yet learned to run from handing stupid questions to smart machines. David Pierce covered this advance in 'The Stepback' newsletterâarriving promptly at 8AM ET because Silicon Valley still thinks coder productivity peaks before coffee.
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(1 of 3)GitHub Copilot arrived like that overeager friend who finishes your sentences â except the sentences are code and you kept hoping they'd stop trying.
AI was helping write code before anyone even knew to panic about AI stealing jobs. Spoiler: Weâre still panicking.
Remember when Microsoft and OpenAI teamed up in 2021 to make coding AI? Neither did half the developers it âhelpsâ.
Source: Theverge | Published: 4/12/2026 | Author: David Pierce
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