Software is unique in that there is a cultural trend to share source code, so that makes it easy to compile into "free" datasets.
I wouldn't say it's an unsolved problem, it's just that there are no incentives to compile or pay for datasets when Microsoft already has petabyes of code to train on. If anything, I expect Microsoft to sell datasets based on GitHub repositories if Copilot-like models survive this lawsuit and are conmoditized.
I really think we are entering some interesting territory that will likely be an interesting can of worms.
So, you’re saying I can’t work in this industry? That seems a bit harsh.
If you're going to be spitting copyrighted code out in violation of any licenses it might be made available under… yes, you can't. Most employers would not appreciate that behaviour. But I doubt you actually do this, even though you're capable of it. You reason about your code; you're not just being a predictive text engine.
I don't concede the equivalence.
The main issue is that while you can use copilot to create "new"/transformative code, it's also trivial to get it to pump out licensed works in a form where you could claim "I didn't know it was taken from x project with y license because the tool made it for me".
I personally have no problem with copilot in concept however to do it (or any other AI model based text/graphics tool) without infringing on people's copyrights is practically an unsolved problem (excluding just per-licensing the training data ahead of time).