GitHub ponders kill switch for pull requests to stop AI slop

GitHub, the Microsoft code-hosting shop that popularized AI-assisted software development, is having some regrets about its Copilot infatuation.

Last week, product manager Camilla Moraes opened a GitHub community discussion to address "a critical issue affecting the open source community: the increasing volume of low-quality contributions that is creating significant operational challenges for maintainers."

AI slop has come home to roost and GitHub wants help from its community of software developers to figure out how to manage the mess.

"We've been hearing from you that you're dedicating substantial time to reviewing contributions that do not meet project quality standards for a number of reasons – they fail to follow project guidelines, are frequently abandoned shortly after submission, and are often AI-generated," Moraes wrote. 

"As AI continues to reshape software development workflows and the nature of open source collaboration, I want you to know that we are actively investigating this problem ...