Codespaces

The Agent Awakens: Collaborative Development with Copilot - Christopher Harrison, GitHub

Jun 27, 2025 · 1:04:06

GitHub Enterprise Advocates Christopher Harrison and John Peck demonstrate GitHub Copilot's Coding Agent at the AI Engineer World's Fair, arguing that context is the key to effective AI pair programming. They explain that coding agent works by assigning GitHub issues with detailed requirements, then running inside a secure, ephemeral GitHub Actions environment with no internet access and limited write permissions. Harrison emphasizes using `copilot-instructions.md` and `.instructions` files to guide code generation, and MCP servers to access external data or APIs. He stresses that AI does not change the DevOps flow—code still requires manual review, linters, security scans, and unit tests. The session covers agent mode, edit mode, and multi-file edits, along with practical Q&A on enterprise adoption, model transparency, and managing multiple coding agents.

The AI Evolution: Mario Rodriguez, GitHub

Nov 7, 2023 · 19:32

Mario Rodriguez, VP of Product at GitHub, recounts the history and future of GitHub Copilot, the first at-scale AI programmer. Copilot now serves over 20,000 organizations and 1 million-plus developers, generating over $100M in ARR, with 46% of code written via completions. He shares insider lessons: ghost text, low latency under 100 milliseconds, and prompt engineering were key to success. He warns that 'syntax is not software' and that global presence and offline/online scorecards are essential at scale. Looking ahead, Rodriguez envisions moving from procedures to goals and constraints, enabling AI to reason on code, and designing immersive UIs for human-AI collaboration. He concludes that GitHub has evolved from a version control system into an end-to-end platform infused with AI.