OpenAI’s system for translating plain English into code looks impressive — and slightly scary
Codex could be a powerful programming assistant
How Codex works
Codex is a descendant ofGPT-3, OpenAI’s vaunted natural language model, but trained on billions of lines of code as well as written text. This allows it totranslate plain English into code.
“GPT-3 is a system that you talk to and it talks back to you, so the only impact it has is in your mind,” said OpenAI CTO Greg Brockman during the demo.
“With Codex, you talk to it [and] it generates code, which means it can actually act in the computer world on your behalf. And I think that that’s a really powerful thing — that you actually have a system that can carry out commands on your behalf.”
According to OpenAI, Codex is most capable in Python, but is also proficient in over a dozen languages, including JavaScript, Go, Perl, PHP, Ruby, Swift, TypeScript, and Shell.
The company has now invited businesses and developers to build on top Codex through a new API. You can join the waitlist forthe private beta here.
Threats and opportunities
The Codex demo was certainly impressive, but the system isn’t perfect, as OpenAI admits.
The company recently publisheda paperthat highlights several limitations and biases. Nonetheless, the model’s simplicity and adaptability provide a promising foundation for AI coding assistants.
“The code neural networks that you will have in the future will be far better than this,” said OpenAI Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever. “This is only the beginning of an exciting future.”
It may well be exciting, but some programmers have raised concerns about a potential threat to their jobs. Others, however, envision AI taking on their onerous tasks so they can focus on developing new ideas.
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Story byThomas Macaulay
Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on AI, cybersecurity, and government policy.Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on AI, cybersecurity, and government policy.
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