IBM's AI coding 'partner' Bob hits general availability
The Register
IBM announced general availability of Bob, an AI coding assistant that combines frontier LLMs, open-source models, and IBM's Granite SLM family to support the full software development lifecycle. Internal testing with 80,000 IBM employees reported 45 percent average productivity gains, with the Z mainframe package currently offered as a free technical preview and standard pricing ranging from $20 to $200 per month. The tool aims to help organizations analyze systems with technical debt and legacy documentation, though it has previously faced security vulnerabilities including malware manipulation and data exfiltration risks.
Why it matters
80,000 internal guinea pigs, Bobcoins, mainframe dreams and a name that really should have raised more flags
