World fair for coders celebrates 'nerditude' of AI era

Microsoft's GitHub has used its annual convention in tech-dominated San Francisco to launch a new generative-AI tool called Spark and reveal significant upgrades to its Copilot virtual assistant.

"Spark is the next step in enabling anyone, whether they're six years old or 60, to be able to build a micro app, and applications in general," GitHub CEO and father of budding coders Thomas Dohmke told AAP.

"We think that's important from a society perspective ... there are a lot of young people who want to learn coding and don't have parents at home who know how to build software."

For too long, the vast majority of the worlds' population had been prevented from building software, he said, with language a solid barrier.

But the "floodgates of nerditude" were wide open, with a wave of apps on the horizon as the centre of gravity for coding moves beyond American English.

Already used by almost two million Australian open-source software developers, big-budget customers including some of Australia's leading banks have turned to GitHub to get a jump on competitors in the age of AI.

Every individual, business and enterprise subscriber, including schools and universities, will get access to the new features this week at no extra cost.

Those using Apple's development environment Xcode for apps that work on iPhones, iPads, watches, television and audio operating systems, laptops and desktop computers can also access Copilot's.

"We're coming for you Apple developers," GitHub software engineer Cassidy Williams told the tech convention's opening session.

Developers who started out building software can become AI engineers, according to product manager Tim Rogers.

Using Spark, experienced developers can make changes to the underlying code while novices can work entirely in their own language.

Once a user is happy with their "spark", they can automatically run it on their desktop computer, tablet, or mobile device. 

They can share their sparks, with access controls, and allow others to remix their spark and build on their creations.

GitHub has also responded to calls for software developers to be able to build with the models that work best for them, including Google Cloud's Gemini and Anthropic's best, as the rapid boom has spawned models that excel at different programming tasks.

Microsoft bought GitHub six years ago in a $US7.5 billion deal to tap into the coding platform's community of open-source developers and bring them into the tech giant's orbit.

"This new greater network for the age of AI is a greater network for all - that's our guiding aspiration and we fully intend on making it real," Mr Dohmke said.

* AAP travelled with the assistance of GitHub.

Australian Associated Press