Learning Web Development using GitHub Copilot in and outside Academia: a Blessing or a Curse?

Abstract

This article investigates the usage of GitHub Copilot, an artificial intelligence-powered coding assistant owned by Microsoft and GitHub, in the process of learning and teaching web development both in formal academic, and informal settings. We dive into the idea behind utilizing GitHub Copilot and highlight its most common and relevant use cases which can be used to learn Web Development. Drawing from existing scientific literature and online statements from software professionals, we present an overview of the current situation with artificial intelligence-assisted programming tools such as GitHub Copilot and its impact and irrelevance on Web Development education especially for the early learning stages. Professionals both in and outside academia agree that usage of artificial intelligence Pair Programming tools such as GitHub Copilot is neither recommended nor essential when learning or teaching Web Development.

Keywords

• ai pair programming
• github copilot
• web development
• vs code