Skip to content
Back to research archive

The Impact of AI on Developer Productivity: Evidence from GitHub Copilot

Generative AI tools hold promise to increase human productivity. This paper presents results from a controlled experiment with GitHub Copilot, an AI pair programmer.

Feb 13, 2023
Read full paper

Abstract

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.

Authors

  • Sida Peng
  • Eirini Kalliamvakou
  • Peter Cihon
  • Mert Demirer