tl;dr We're not in danger (yet).
Quick disclaimer: what you're about to read was written by a random 17 year old hobby programmer. Please take it with a grain of salt.
What Is Vibe Coding?
Vibe coding treats the "coding" part like a black box (i don't even know why it's part of the name). It's all about the vibes. Here's how the process goes:
- You prompt an AI to make something.
- Most of the time, it writes garbage code which you definitely don't understand.
- You ask the AI to fix it.
- This creates several other problems with the "codebase", seldom fixing the actual problem.
- Go back to step 3
In the end, it's a recursive, never-ending process. It only ends when YOU change your expectations to something more lowly or get frustrated and decide to KEEP the bugs. That is, assuming the code does run (or compile).
Well, one thing's certain: it's definitely not getting you hired. Even if you WERE hired, you're probably getting fired soon. I'd be scared if this isn't the case.
Why Is Vibe Coding Hated?
I mean, there isn't anything wrong or illegal with it, right? But, if the big boys are against it, there's definitely a reason.
And the reason is: pure vibes just don't make the cut. Programming, good programming, is a skill to be learnt. Asking an AI to do it for you, treating the codebase like a black box, not even caring to look at the code for once, you're gaining nothing from it in the long run. Actually, you're not coding at all!
It may be cheaper than hiring a real developer, you might have the ability to make it work 24/7 (if you have the money), but that's just about it. The cons more than outweigh the pros.
Is It Bad To Use AI For Programming?
Who said? There's no harm in using it as a rubber duck. No one's stopping you from using it to help you name things. GitHub Copilot (i used to use it too, but not now) does an okay-ish job at helping you avoid repetitive tasks.
Basically, anything that doesn't require critical thinking or involve writing code.
Conclusion
We're not in danger (yet). It's okay to use AI, but not for the bit where you write the code. That gives me an idea: In the next post, I'll try making a lightweight, fully local AI rubber duck (NOT using vibe coding)! Stay tuned for the next post!