"We view this as a tool for multiplying programmers."Grunt WorkOpenAI, an AI research company that Elon Musk founded before he left in disgust, just revealed a new algorithm called Codex. It can interpret commands written English and convert them into usable code.Codex is able to take instructions in order to either simplify programming work for more experienced coders, or to aid beginners learning and turning it into tangible software such as websites or rudimentary games. The Verge reports, for example, that users could describe the appearance and functionality of the website they wish to create. This would include details such as the location of menus and text boxes in everyday English. Codex would then generate a basic design based on the way it understood the request.Artificial Intelligence AssistantIt is not the intention to put AI in charge programming. Codex acts more like an assistant to programmers or deputy. It takes concepts and creates code in an effort to create them.Greg Brockman, OpenAI CTO and cofounder, stated that this tool is a way to multiply programmers. Programming is two-parted. You have to think deeply about a problem, try to understand it and then map that small piece to existing code. This could be a library, function or API. "AdvertisementAdvertisementBrockman said that it is that second part that people find monotonous, but Codex excels at: It takes programmers who are already programmer and takes away the tedious work.Open SourceCodex was built on GPT-3 OpenAI's famous text-generating algorithm. It was developed using large chunks of the written web. The Verge reports that Codex's extra source may be a problem for the open-source community. Codex was built using extra data from open-source code repositories, which programmers created to share their knowledge with the rest of the world.From a technical standpoint Codex could be considered more efficient. OpenAI assured The Verge that it is not in violation of any copyright laws. OpenAI has made a formidable tool out of the help of volunteers. This opens it up to criticism for profiting from the labor of a community. It will be interesting to see how programmers react to this new tool.READ MORE: OpenAI's new machine learning software Codex can convert English into code using its new OpenAI [The Verge]AdvertisementAdvertisementFurther information on programr AI: A military AI has been created that can learn how to program software
