Microsoft attracting users to its code-writing, generative AI software

Early evidence is in usage of a little-discussed tool that can write computer code for programmers, called GitHub Copilot. Opened up to the public in June of last year, the tool drew 400,000 subscribers within a month. On Tuesday, Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella said that more than 1 million people had used Copilot to date. Microsoft shares dipped slightly in after-hours trade on Tuesday following its forecast that cloud-computing revenue in the current quarter was just below Wall Street expectations. Yet the growth in Copilot is a preliminary indication that people will pay for so-called generative AI, tech that can produce prose, imagery or in this case computer code on command after having learned the skill from vast data.