ByteSized dRTP: AI-assisted Coding
AI coding agents are changing how software is written in academia and industry, with tools that can now explore a codebase, run commands and make changes on the user’s behalf. How well these agents work depends on both the underlying model and the harness around it: the instructions, tools, permissions and checks that guide the agent and verify its work. This hands-on session gives an introduction to working with AI coding agents, using GitHub Copilot in VS Code and the terminal as the example, with approaches that also apply to other tools. Attendees will be introduced to the idea of a harness. They will then see how to use Copilot to explore existing code, guide it with project instructions, check its changes with tests, and record its use for reproducibility. There will be time for hands-on experience through guided exercises and follow-along examples.
Prerequisites
Participants will need a GitHub account, VS Code with the GitHub Copilot extension, and the GitHub Copilot CLI. If you are eligible, you may want to sign up for GitHub Education for free access to additional Copilot benefits (registration can take up to one week), although the free version will be sufficient for this session. Foundational knowledge of Python and git would also be an advantage. If you don’t have the required prerequisites for the session, you are still welcome to join the session and watch the instructor working through the interactive aspects of the session.