Xcode coding assistance rumored to be early Apple generative AI effort

AppleInsider

A new report suggests that Apple is nearing completion of a slate of new AI based tools to help developers code and test applications within Xcode.

Xcode to get new AI-powered coding and testing tools

The new Xcode feature will allegedly work similarly to Microsoft's GitHub Copilot, which uses OpenAI technology to suggest code and functions in real-time in a code editor. GitHub Copilot is part of Microsoft's Copilot suite of AI-powered tools.

According to a Bloomberg report, the new tools will "use artificial intelligence to predict and complete blocks of code," which would streamline the coding process for developers. Apple is also allegedly exploring the use of AI to generate code for testing applications, a process can be particularly tedious.

Apple is currently pushing its engineers to try the features in-house before it releases them to the broader public. While there's no concrete timeline for these tools to appear, sources familiar with the project indicate that it will likely be out sometime this year.

Earlier in February, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that Apple is spending "a tremendous amount of time and effort" on AI features that will be announced in the coming months.

However, Cook has said that Apple isn't leaping onto the AI bandwagon just to catch up with the rest of the industry. He's said that Apple has been looking for a point for adding AI features -- and that it has found it.

Rumor Score: Likely

Read on AppleInsider

tht

I would like a smart agent for figuring out how to use Apple devices.

misterkit

I guess the day is coming soon when you don't have to know how to code at all in order to code.

inspiredcode

This is one of the most obvious areas. AI is usually pretty good at writing tests and documentation. 

Curious if Apple will provide programmatic access to their LLMs for developers.

xed

I expect that we'll eventually have this foundation Automator. Users can just describe what they want their system to do and it will be able to do it with relative competenc

edited February 2024

gatorguy

Isn't it just machine learning which Apple has used for a decade? I'm certain that's how Apple will describe it. /s

edited February 2024

avon b7

Xed said:

I expect that we'll eventually have this foundation Automator. Users can just describe what they want their system to do and it will be able to do it with relative competenc

Imagine what Sal Soghoian would have done with that.

His dream come true. 

edited February 2024

jimh2

MisterKit said:

I guess the day is coming soon when you don't have to know how to code at all in order to code.

And it is coming quickly. Like every initiative involving jobs by the time everyone is in the pipeline it starts closing up. My career is coming to end as I ride off into the sunset. When I started software development tools sucked. For the most part you had to write everything from scratch. Now just about anything you need has been written completely or there is a library to get you really close. For those planning  legitimate computer science careers you will probably squeak by. Coders on the other hand will be the next chimney sweeps.  

michelb76

Makes sense as Apple would only have to support OBJ-C and Swift instead of alle kinds of languages.

This would hopefully make it easier to find out stuff like CMMetadataFormatDescriptionCreateWithMetadataFormatDescriptionAndMetadataSpecifications or CNLabelContactRelationYoungerCousinMothersSiblingsDaughterOrFathersSistersDaughter.

strangedays

MisterKit said:

I guess the day is coming soon when you don't have to know how to code at all in order to code.

Jokes aside, I'm always pointing out to people that coding and engineering are different things. Coding is the implementation of engineering. Code generators for scaffolding will not replace the actual work an engineer does, which is entirely dependent on the problem domain and org constraints & compromises. No generative tool makes that go away because no code generator can be aware of those factors. Typing != designing.

It's the same w/ lawyers -- online letter templates didn't replace attorneys. The output isn't the work.

edited February 2024

dewme

MisterKit said:

I guess the day is coming soon when you don't have to know how to code at all in order to code.

I think we crossed that line a long time ago.

anantksundaram

Wow, if that’s the case, they are pathetically behind. 

Like, life-alteringly, irreversibly, laughably, face-palmingly behind. 

Hope this is not true. 

jimh2

StrangeDays said:

MisterKit said:

I guess the day is coming soon when you don't have to know how to code at all in order to code.

Jokes aside, I'm always pointing out to people that coding and engineering are different things. Coding is the implementation of engineering. Code generators for scaffolding will not replace the actual work an engineer does, which is entirely dependent on the problem domain and org constraints & compromises. No generative tool makes that go away because no code generator can be aware of those factors. Typing != designing.

It's the same w/ lawyers -- online letter templates didn't replace attorneys. The output isn't the work.

You are kind of assuming the capabilities will not get better. They will and it will happen very quickly. Computer science in terms of AI is moving at warp speed. 

mpantone

dewme said:

MisterKit said:

I guess the day is coming soon when you don't have to know how to code at all in order to code.

I think we crossed that line a long time ago.

This is unfortunately correct. All you need to do is to play a recently released $70 AAA videogame. Many of these are stuttering piles of dung written by incompetents and shoved out the door without a microsecond of software QA.

Just look at Cyberpunk 2077 as just one example. It was a clustermuck at launch and took CD Projekt RED years (and tens of millions of dollars) to fix to the point that it should have released at. And it'll never get the originally promised multi-player mode.

Hell, Apple's own software (macOS, iOS, iPadOS, etc.) have been getting worse over years and years. This past year, they had a one-week pause to let engineers reduce the expanding bug list.

And software bugs that AI coding models cannot fix today may be fixed by more advanced AI models in a year. 

It is completely wrong to assume that AI/ML will make no further advancement. That would be like saying we should stop medical research because we can't invent any more new medicines.

edited February 2024