Microsoft's CoreAI team is researching AI-assisted code translation, using Rust as a target language, but there are no plans to rewrite Windows in Rust.
Focus on Code Migration
Microsoft's Future of Scalable Software Engineering team, led by Galen Hunt, focuses on automated code translation projects. The aim is to replace C and C++ with Rust in certain contexts for memory safety benefits.
- Galen Hunt clarified: the effort is research-based, not a corporate directive.
- Key goal: Automating translation of 1 million lines of code by 1 engineer in 1 month.
- The work involves building static analysis and machine learning tools.
Memory Safety and Challenges
Research shows that 70% of security vulnerabilities derive from memory safety issues. Rust offers a memory-safe alternative, though challenges exist with AI-generated code quality.
- Memory safety is a key motivator for using Rust.
- Studies suggest AI-generated code can contain more issues than human-written code.
The initiative underscores Microsoft's commitment to improving software security while exploring AI and language transition tools, but not rewriting Windows itself.
