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Dark Factories

GitHub / Various Studies

The gap between GitHub Copilot’s lab results and production reality is a core data point in the dark factory discussion.

Lab studies: 55% faster code completion on isolated tasks Production reality: Larger PRs, higher review costs, more security vulnerabilities

One senior engineer’s observation: “Copilot makes writing code cheaper but owning it more expensive.”

Market position (2025):

  • 20 million users
  • 42% market share among AI coding tools
  • Most widely deployed AI coding tool in enterprise