One example of Copilot saving time - the other day I was trying to remember how to access a value from a map in Go. This doesn't take much time - alt tab to browser, ctrl + t for a new tab, type in "golang get value from map", click on a stackoverflow result, scroll down, glance at the result, alt tab back to IDE, and do it. With Copilot, Copilot knew what I was trying to do and suggested the right code to me and I accepted the suggestion by pressing tab.
But! I think the savings are even bigger because there is no context switch. If I have my browser open I might find myself going to hackernews, checking my email, looking at my stackoverflow notifications, browsing twitter - whatever. Copilot is not only faster, it keeps my focus on the code without giving me a chance to get distracted. In some sense, for this example, Copilot saved me 5-10 seconds by not needing to Google something. In another sense, it might have saved me an hour because I didn't decide to just check something on twitter while I had my browser open.
I don’t think the average brain works like this. If you know you have a piece of code to deliver or are in flow, I don’t think you’d willingly start browsing HN just because you went to SO to c&p some boilerplate code.
I find that if my brain is willing to be distracted, it’s made some sort of calculation saying that the cost of being distracted isn’t going to have a significant bearing on deliverables…and I’m pretty sure I’m no better or worse at estimations than anyone else.
But! I think the savings are even bigger because there is no context switch. If I have my browser open I might find myself going to hackernews, checking my email, looking at my stackoverflow notifications, browsing twitter - whatever. Copilot is not only faster, it keeps my focus on the code without giving me a chance to get distracted. In some sense, for this example, Copilot saved me 5-10 seconds by not needing to Google something. In another sense, it might have saved me an hour because I didn't decide to just check something on twitter while I had my browser open.