In late June, Microsoft released a new kind of artificial intelligence technology that could generate its own computer code.Called Copilot, the tool was designed to speed the work of professional programmers. As they typed away on their laptops, it would suggest ready-made blocks of computer code they could instantly add to their own.Many programmers loved the new tool or were at least intrigued by it. But Matthew Butterick, a programmer, designer, writer and lawyer in Los Angeles, was not one of them. This month, he and a team of other lawyers filed a lawsuit that is seeking class-action status against Microsoft and the other high-profile companies that designed and deployed Copilot.Like many cutting-edge A.I. technologies, Copilot developed its skills by analyzing vast amounts of data. In this case, it rel …
