- By default, GitHub rolls out AI user data training with optional opt-out
- Business, Enterprise and some other platforms are excluded from the change
- The company explains that users’ real-time, live data is essential for good training
GitHub Chief Product Officer Mario Rodriguez has announced that the platform will use user data to train its AI models that operate on an opt-out basis that automatically subscribes users to the data collection system.
The change will not only affect free users, but also Pro and Pro+ – Copilot Business, Enterprise, student accounts and teacher accounts will be exempt from the new user data training change.
The company’s blog posts add AI-generated content, as well as user feedback and interactions will all go into training the AI models.
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GitHub will use your data to train its AI models, it confirms
Some of the elements that will go into training GitHub’s AI include: input, like prompts and code snippets; output, including accepted content and edited proposals; code context; comments and documentation; filenames and repo structures; Copilot interactions and even feedback like thumbs up/down.
In addition to the above account types and opt-outs, there is a third and final category of users who will be exempt from the education change. “Content from your issues, discussions or private repositories at rest,” Rodriguez writes, carefully pointing out that even private repositories can be used if a user is actively using Copilot.
The company is keen to point out that real-world interaction data greatly improves model training and thanks users who choose to share their data.
“We believe the future of AI-assisted development depends on real-world interaction data from developers like you,” added the CPO.
GitHub publicly stating its stance on training user data is an important step, but even if users are given the option to opt out, many are still unhappy with the on-by-default setting.
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