Embed++ 10e: AI Copilot – helper or saboteur? Tested many scenarios, results may shock you! Part 1

Can GitHub Copilot actually help you write embedded C++ code... or does it just hallucinate nonsense?

In this episode, we put AI pair programming to the test. I install GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio and try everything from refactoring functions to fixing warnings and even generating firmware logic from comments. Some results are impressive. Others... disturbing.

💡 In this video:
- What is "vibe coding" and how it fits embedded work
- Installing Copilot in Visual Studio
- What Copilot can do... and where it fails badly
- Natural language prompts vs. low-level expectations
- Safe workflows for using AI in embedded projects
- When to trust the AI and when to double check everything

🔌 Spoiler: Copilot doesn't understand linker scripts, but it does know how to format macros and stub out boilerplate.
00:00 installing GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio
00:35 what is "vibe coding"?
01:30 sign in to GitHub to use Copilot
02:30 natural language C to C++ migration
03:30 abort the changes, ABORT!
04:00 holding copilot's hand... and still watching it fail
05:40 getting rid of C-style macros
08:45 can Copilot replace macros with immediate functions?
10:00 what about macros for conditional compilation?
10:40 does the code still run properly on hardware?
11:10 can Copilot handle makefile changes?
13:09 how about a vague, open-ended request?
14:19 does it know which flags are for our toolchain?
16:09 how does it handle fixing build errors?
18:20 limitations of the free mode and how to work around it
18:40 sometimes Copilot does know better...
19:53 C to C++ style casts - can Copilot do that and not fail?
23:02 can one trust what Copilot is doing?
23:30 can Copilot do refactoring? Or will it butcher the codebase?
26:44 refactoring - take 2 (will it work this time?)

Видео Embed++ 10e: AI Copilot – helper or saboteur? Tested many scenarios, results may shock you! Part 1 канала Embedded C++ with MSVC IDE