According to at least one tech leader, corporate culture involves thinking about AI use.
In a recent episode of the “Decoder” podcast, Github CEO Thomas Dohmke defended a Microsoft memo asking managers to evaluate employees based on the amount they use internal AI tools. Business Insider first reported on the memo in June.
“I think it's a completely fair game to say that in 2025 you need to look back at AI usage. You need to reflect what you've learned about AI. Did you use GithubCopilot or Microsoft Copilot, or use your team's Copilot to summarise the meeting. Dohmke said in an episode aired on August 7th. Github is Microsoft's software development platform, and Github Copilot is an AI coding assistant.
He said the memo was “more subtle” and “talked about AI learning” in a conversation between the manager and the employee. The learning process coincides with Microsoft's growth-oriented culture, he said.
The memo originally submitted among other developer tools by Julia Liuson, president of Microsoft, responsible for Github Copilot, said that AI use should be part of the manager's “holistic reflection” on employee performance.
“AI is now a fundamental part of how we work. As with collaboration, data-driven thinking and effective communication, using AI is no longer an option. It's at the heart of every role and every level.”
Dohmke said there are certain non-negotiable Github employees: Using Github. His expectations apply not only to developers, but to all departments from HR to sales to law.
“There's no world where you can tell someone, 'Well, sorry, I don't want to use Github.' And if the employees don't want it, I think it's a fair game. And there are tens of thousands of other tech companies out there that can have it,” he said. “But it's part of the company culture that everyone on GitHub uses Github.”
In Dohmke's case, measuring AI usage does not mean assessing the number of code someone wrote in AI, as the metric is “easy to gaming”. Instead, he said it was about showing a way of thinking that matches the company culture.
