Discussion

• @eevee @eevee on x

  github copilot has, by their own admission, been trained on mountains of gpl code, so i'm unclear on how it's not a form of laundering open source code into commercial works. the handwave of “it usually doesn't reproduce exact chunks” is not very satisfying https://twitter.com/..…

• @bphogan Brian P. Hogan on x

  Hi. I know you're excited about copilot. GitHub scraped your code. And they plan to charge you for copilot after you help train it further. It's truly disappointing to watch people cheer at having their work and time exploited by a company worth billions.

• @masspirates Mass. Pirate Party on x

  “The output of a machine simply does not qualify for copyright protection - it is in the public domain. That is good news for the open movement and not something that needs fixing.” https://twitter.com/...

• @mitsuhiko Armin Ronacher on x

  “I'm leaving GitHub because copilot uses my OpenSource code for training” is such an odd move. Anyone can fork it to there and GitHub can feed OpenSource code from anywhere to it and US copyright law permits this. I'm also pretty certain we should not strengthen copyright laws ..…

• @mark_riedl Mark O. Riedl on x

  Some thoughts about Github Copilot and copyright (I am not a lawyer). Copilot uses a version of GPT3 trained on GPL licensed code. GPL give everyone the right to copy and make derivatives. Derivatives inherit GPL. Copilot can sometimes memorize and repeat snippets of code. https:…

• @posco P. Oscar Boykin on x

  I really like this take on GitHub copilot: https://juliareda.eu/...

• @maxandersson Max Andersson on x

  When it comes to digital policy, @Senficon is nearly always right. Placing AI-constructed works under copyright is a very bad idea. https://juliareda.eu/...

• @grady_booch Grady Booch on x

  IP lawyers, assemble! https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @mark_riedl Mark O. Riedl on x

  Neural weights are not code themselves and do not resemble the surface form of any GPL code. GPL covers the possibility of “non-source conveyance”. This would apply if neural weights are deemed a form of “object code”. There are reasons to reject this line of argument, tho.

• @mark_riedl Mark O. Riedl on x

  Copilot can't run without the weights of the neural net and those weights cannot exist without the data. Is the model part of the “executable code” of Copilot? There are reasons why the answer could be yes, in which case Copilot would be GPL...

• @eevee @eevee on x

  i'm really tired of the tech industry treating neural networks like magic black boxes that spit out something completely novel, and taking free software for granted while paying out $150k salaries for writing ad delivery systems. the two have finally fused and it sucks

• @bphogan Brian P. Hogan on x

  What would be really funny Is if people who maintain popular repos Started putting in wrong code on purpose.

• @eevee @eevee on x

  copyright does not only cover copying and pasting; it covers derivative works. github copilot was trained on open source code and the sum total of everything it knows was drawn from that code. there is no possible interpretation of “derivative” that does not include this

• @carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x

  Free Software advocates believed the GPL would end companies making money from proprietary software. Instead it simply enabled new types of proprietary software companies like Google & Amazon. Github Copilot is continuing that tradition. Market incentives beat simple solutions. h…

• @beautyon_ Beautyon on x

  There are other tools available. Use them. Anything touched by Microsoft is poison. You have a choice. Choose “not evil”. https://twitter.com/...

• @egee_irl Egee on x

  Open Source means everyone can see, share, and use your code even if you disagree with them. If you want to pick and choose who can use your code, don't fucking Open Source it. https://twitter.com/...

• @nixcraft @nixcraft on x

  More and more, well-established open-source developers are abandoning Github. This time it is about ML-powered GitHub Copilot product. https://thelig.ht/... What do you think? https://twitter.com/...

• @storagezilla Mark Twomey on x

  GitHub Copilot has ruffled user feathers. https://thelig.ht/...

• @carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x

  Increasing number of developers are upset Github CoPilot is trained on Open Source code and then used to build a proprietary product. Regardless of legality, this is similar to https://clearview.ai/ which was trained on public photos. Legal yet creepy. https://thelig.ht/... https…

• @mitsuhiko Armin Ronacher on x

  I don't want to say anything but that's not the right license Mr Copilot. https://twitter.com/...