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Comment by naikrovek | Hacker News Reader

the thing that gets me most about all of this is that so many developers here believe, truly, that they are the only people on earth who can write certain things in code. and that because of that, their code is extremely valuable, and should never be found in the hands of another person.

Those same people put their code in public repos on GitHub, with permissive license(s), and don't opt-out of Github's use of their code for things like copilot.

Those same people are now mad at Microsoft because of copilot, and not mad at Amazon for their competing service which does the same things.

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This is a really weird comment. I feel like you are trying to make a strawman, but it just looks like a pile of hay.

so many developers here believe [...] their code is extremely valuable, and should never be found in the hands of another person

Usually they are fine with other people reading or using the code, so long as proper attribution is given or derivative works have similar terms. Which is not happening in this case.

The Amazon solution is newer and less widely used or advertised. Presumably all of the arguments about Copilot refer to the Amazon version.

> don't opt-out of Github's use of their code for things like copilot.

How does one opt-out, aside from not making the source available at all?

GitHub allows you to opt your repos out if (and only if) you pay for Copilot.

Not true. I just opted out and I do not pay for it.

Care to share how? I would like to opt-out but have no idea how.

I went here was able to do so: https://github.com/settings/copilot

I'm also late to this article, so maybe this was a bug that was fixed.

All I see there is a button that says “Enable GitHub Copilot”.

Do you have any public repos? Also, I did apply for the beta but I'm not sure if I was ever accepted, so maybe that is why I have the option. I've definitely never paid for anything though. https://i.imgur.com/KBRUSFa.png

I do have public repos. Perhaps that setting there is about sending snippets from the editor? Unsure. But I definitely don’t see that.

>should never be found in the hands of another person

I am absolutely fine with other people using my code.

I am not fine with my code being used by AIs whose only ultimate goal is to make me unemployable while simultaneously generate a bunch of money for some corporations and introduce a bunch of labor and inequality issues in an already shit society.

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