Vibe coding with AI

What is Vibe coding?

Since the OpenAI founder Andrej Karpathy posted on social media about it on February 3rd 2025, vibe coding has come to signify a new way to produce programming code. For Karpathy it is when “you fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists” with the aid of an LLM-based programming generation tool. Since, it is the model generating all the coding it can be argued, as he does, that “it’s not really coding” in the traditional sense. In the old days, before LLMs got popular, only programmers could write any sort of functional code.  Now generative AI allows non-coders to generate useful code for any conceivable purpose. However, vibe coding and writing code with the assistance of an LLM is not the same. If you’re an expert coder or programmer and understand 100% of what the model writes then it is not vibe coding. But if you accept working code from an LLM without really knowing how it functions and roll with it, then you are a vibe coder. 

When to vibe-code & when not to

• For situations that demand non-professional work (experimentation, fun projects, non-critical code, etc.).
• Not how a professional developer works or should work.
• If someone is unable to understand their code (AI generated or otherwise) they are not a developer.
• Professional devs produce functional code and support it in the future.
• Professional code takes into account: performance, accessibility, readability, security, cost & solutions to problems that may arise.
• LLM code can be a great assistant for professional devs: it can greatly speed up development.

What kinds of projects are ok to vibe-code?

• Non-critical & low stakes (for example, educational projects), so that potential bugs and security issues do not harm anybody.
• If it is to be used by other people it needs to follow the same standards as professionally written software: security guidelines, privacy protocols, etc. 
• Consulting with a professional is advised for projects that go out to the world.

What it means for the future of programming

• AI companies have pushed for LLM generated code to democratize software development. 
• A new way of interacting with software that does not turn non-coders into professional devs.
• Current LLM tech will not make professional devs go away.
• Just another tool in the long history of lowering the barrier of entry to computer interaction (like graphic interface operating systems in the 1990s).
• Professionals will use AI tools to speed up development.
• Limitations still persist: inability to reason through complex problems, difficulty debugging code, inability to learn from mistakes, etc. 
• Human coders will still be needed & today's AI cannot write better code than a professional programmer yet.

 Are you vibe coding? Do you think it will change software development as we know it?