OpenAI is working with Stack Overflow, a Q&A forum for software developers, to improve the performance of generative AI models on programming-related tasks.
As a result of the partnership announced Monday, OpenAI's models, including those offered through the ChatGPT chatbot platform, should improve over time in answering programming-related questions, the companies said. At the same time, Stack Overflow will benefit from his OpenAI expertise developing new generative AI integrations on the Stack Overflow platform.
The first feature set is expected to be rolled out by the end of June.
The partnership with OpenAI is a surprising reversal for Stack Overflow, which initially banned responses from ChatGPT on its platform due to fears of spam responses.
Stack Overflow began experimenting with generative AI capabilities last April, pledging to create a model that would “reward” developers who contribute knowledge to the platform. In July, the company launched a conversational search tool that allows users to ask questions and receive answers based on the Stack Overflow database of more than 58 million questions and answers, and a conversational search tool that allows businesses to use their own documentation and knowledge base. We've launched a tool to help you fine-tune your search.
Some members of Stack Overflow's developer community pushed back against this change, citing concerns about the validity of AI-generated information, information overload, and the data privacy of individual contributors on the platform.
There was at least some basis for such concerns. A GitClear analysis of his more than 150 million lines of code committed to project repositories over the past few years shows that generative AI development tools are increasingly pushing incorrect code into codebases. It turns out. Elsewhere, security researchers have warned that such tools can amplify existing bugs and security issues in software projects.
But despite their obvious flaws, developers are adopting generative AI tools for at least some coding tasks. A Stack Overflow poll conducted in June 2023 found that 44% of developers are currently using AI tools in their development process, and 26% said they plan to use them in the near future. .
This put Stack Overflow at risk for its survival. Traffic to the platform has reportedly dropped significantly since last year, when powerful new generative AI models (often trained on data from Stack Overflow) were released.
Therefore, Stack Overflow is currently pursuing licensing agreements with AI providers in an effort to reduce costs.
The company's deal with OpenAI (financial terms were not disclosed) sees Stack Overflow partner with Google to power Google's Gemini model with Stack Overflow data, and collaborate with Google to leverage more AI. The agreement was signed after the company introduced the functionality to its platform. Stack Overflow emphasized at the time that the agreement was not exclusive, and that's exactly what happened.
Stack Overflow CEO Prashanth Chandrasekar has previously said that 10% of the platform's roughly 600 staff are focused on AI strategy, which he sees as key to ensuring Stack Overflow can attract users and maintain high quality. said there is potential additional revenue to be gained from this strategy. information.
“Stack Overflow is the world's largest developer community,” Chandrasekar said in a press release this morning. “through [our] With our industry-leading partnership with OpenAI, we strive to redefine the developer experience, driving efficiency and collaboration through the power of community, best-in-class data, and AI experiences. Our goal at OverflowAPI, and our commitment to advancing the era of socially responsible AI, is to provide vetted, trusted, and accurate data as the foundation for building and delivering technology solutions to users. Use it to set new standards. ”