GitHub will now use developer data to train its AI models by default:
GitHub has confirmed it will begin using developer interaction data to train its artificial intelligence models, marking a significant shift in how user data is handled across its platform.
The move, set to take effect on April 24, introduces an opt-out system, meaning most users will be automatically enrolled unless they explicitly disable the setting.
The Microsoft-owned platform said it will start collecting and using interaction data from its AI coding assistant, GitHub Copilot, to improve model performance.
This includes:
- Code snippets entered by users
- Prompts and inputs
- AI-generated outputs and edits
- Context such as file structure and repository data
- User feedback like ratings and interactions
GitHub says this data will help build "more intelligent, context-aware" coding tools and improve accuracy across different programming languages and workflows.
[...] Users who do not want their data used for training must manually disable the setting in their account preferences.
However, enterprise-focused tiers including Copilot Business and Enterprise are excluded from the change, reflecting stricter data governance expectations in corporate environments.
GitHub says real-world developer interactions are essential to improving AI systems.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by canopic jug on Saturday April 04, @08:49AM (1 child)
In contradiction to all the hype, it seems that at the end of the day M$ Copilot is actually "for entertainment purposes only".
Though I don't see what's entertaining about methodically stripping licensing and attribution information from all the projects still left at M$ GitHub.
Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Saturday April 04, @04:26PM
But they did it in an important situation [youtube.com]! I guess it's a good thing it's in a show presented for our entertainment.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Saturday April 04, @09:50AM
In the world of work where everything's Microsoft because reasons, we have already opted out. Microsoft really does have a brass neck.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 4, Funny) by Mojibake Tengu on Saturday April 04, @10:26AM
Putting a phrasing "Microslop Slopilot" in code comment may cause your project being removed from GitHub for policy violation.
Not the first platform that already happened on, though.
Nostalgia?
Rust programming language offends both my Intelligence and my Spirit.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by spiraldancing on Saturday April 04, @11:36AM (2 children)
This headline reminded me that I hadn't completed deleted everything I had left over at GitHub.
So, I just finished moving the last couple of scraps of work that I still halfway valued, over to my Codeberg account.
GitHub is now welcome to train its AI on me deleting everything in my account and logging out for the last time.
Lets go exploring.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by corey on Saturday April 04, @11:51PM (1 child)
Likely it’s still there, just with is_deleted=“Y” in the database. Their AI will still slurp it up.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by spiraldancing on Sunday April 05, @09:05AM
Agreed. In fact, it probably already did years ago ... and what's worse, GitHub's AI and/or others are almost definitely slurping up the projects I have on Codeberg, too.
But it's the best I can do w/o "going dark" on the Internet. At the very least, it makes me feel better, and just possibly, it sends a message to some corporate human(s) somewhere.
Lets go exploring.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by SomeGuy on Saturday April 04, @01:12PM
Seriously, is there any reason to even believe any more that anything you type or click on these days will not be fed to the glorious magic AI skibidi slop generators?
[AI bot comment: Munch, munch, munch, burp!]
(Score: 4, Interesting) by looorg on Saturday April 04, @01:16PM (1 child)
Is there any logging of how often all their bots trawl Soylent for slop material?
(Score: 4, Informative) by janrinok on Saturday April 04, @02:47PM
kolie runs software to prevent excessive trawling of our site but it isn't obvious from which source the trawl originates. Some declare themselves openly, but others use the same VPNs that site users also employ so we cannot just put a block on them without affecting our own community.
I do not know the extent of any 'logging' of this activity.
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 4, Informative) by VLM on Saturday April 04, @03:49PM
They seem to be blaming these guys:
https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/learning-about-github/githubs-plans [github.com]
The people at fault are actually these guys:
https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/get-started/plans [github.com]
Also read the AI generated press release carefully...
The "real story" seems to be if you're on free tier you're paying your way by providing training data. I'm really not seeing a problem there. TANSTAAFL and all that.
The problem I see is users have to pay for the "GitHub Copilot Pro" tiers and MS is "double dipping" and stealing their IP in addition to demanding payment which is a pretty big problem in contractor land. I don't subscribe to copilot so I don't have a dog in the fight, but anyone working 1099 with a "GitHub Copilot Pro" subscription and any kind of sane NDA with their clients is probably in significant legal trouble...
I'm not a Copilot subscriber but as near as I can tell from the link above, the difference between "GitHub Copilot Pro" and "GitHub Copilot Business" is the former now seems to open you to NDA violation lawsuits (thanks Microsoft!) and the latter costs $9/month extra mostly for logging and now NDA lawsuit avoidance.
I would guess the "real story" is this is a creative way to increase prices about 100% without announcing a price increase as I don't see a use case for "GitHub Copilot Pro" if you're going to get sued by your clients for subscribing to it and "GitHub Copilot Business" costs almost twice as much. Perhaps in the long run "GitHub Copilot Pro" is going to become the "cheat on your homework" tier.
Another "real story" is dying orgs sometimes boost price when adoption is not meeting goals, yeah its obviously counterproductive in the long run, but the decision makers are worried about getting fired next quarter not next year. Meaning "the end times are nearer than you'd think". Or rephrased my opinion is it looks like the people in charge think the bubble will be popping in the next few quarters not next few years and are making business decisions upon that belief, who am I to argue with them, if they think the bubble is about to pop I'd agree with the execs at MS. I wouldn't say it's definitely time to start short selling MS, but I wouldn't personally go long given this news LOL. Not looking good....