# The Impact of AI on Developer Productivity: Evidence from GitHub Copilot

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2302.06590 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.06590/

## Key facts

- Cited by 274 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 13 Feb 2023.

## Built on by (most cited first, 30 of 274)

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- [From LLMs to LLM-based Agents for Software Engineering: A Survey of Current, Challenges and Future](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.02479/) (2024)
- ["It's Weird That it Knows What I Want": Usability and Interactions with Copilot for Novice Programmers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.02491/) (2023)
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- [RefactorBench: Evaluating Stateful Reasoning in Language Agents Through Code](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.07832/) (2025)
- [The Shaky Foundations of Clinical Foundation Models: A Survey of Large Language Models and Foundation Models for EMRs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.12961/) (2023)
- [An Empirical Study on Usage and Perceptions of LLMs in a Software Engineering Project](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.16186/) (2024)
- [LORD: Low Rank Decomposition Of Monolingual Code LLMs For One-Shot Compression](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.14021/) (2023)
- [Beyond Code Generation: An Observational Study of ChatGPT Usage in Software Engineering Practice](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.14901/) (2024)
- [Speed at the Cost of Quality: How Cursor AI Increases Short-Term Velocity and Long-Term Complexity in Open-Source Projects](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.04427/) (2025)
- [How AI Impacts Skill Formation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.20245/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Generative AI tools hold promise to increase human productivity. This paper presents results from a controlled experiment with GitHub Copilot, an AI pair programmer. Recruited software developers were asked to implement an HTTP server in JavaScript as quickly as possible. The treatment group, with access to the AI pair programmer, completed the task 55.8% faster than the control group. Observed heterogenous effects show promise for AI pair programmers to help people transition into software development careers.