MY Opinion on 'Vibe Coding'

Two years ago (January 2024), starting a new project meant thinking in a completely different way. To "ship fast" back then, you'd clone a starter template, pick a proven stack, and grind through the boilerplate. Today, I find myself doing almost the same thing, but the process has changed entirely. I'll explain more later in this article.

AI is damn powerful. In 2024, I wrote an article saying AI will replace devs, and I got a lot of backlash. I had some intense arguments with friends, and I promised myself I'd be more careful with my words next time.

The CEO of Anthropic famously said that in 6 months AI will write 90% of code, and in the next 6 months, it'll write the remaining 10%. It's been over a year now. AI might be writing 90% of the internet's slop, but for the real stuff? I'm not so sure.

AI Tools and Agents

Tools like Cursor and Antigravity actually changed how I see AI. Searching my codebase, jumping through files, and having an agent use my own coding style to implement features is incredibly impressive. I remember trying Cursor for the first time; it was the day I realized that AI might actually replace me lols.

There's a lot of slop

The problem with vibe coding right now is the "slop." We're seeing too many gradients, unnecessary shadows, and weird icon choices. It's tiring, and honestly, it’s why we’re not jobless yet. Writing code is easy. Writing good code that is clean, secure, and well-architected is something I don't see AI agents mastering anytime soon.

It still loves using type any if you aren't careful, but you have to admit, AI is actually kinda good at specific stacks. Most people are building with React and TypeScript because that’s where the training data is the strongest.

If you're using a popular stack, the AI usually knows the patterns better than you do. It can scaffold a complex component in seconds, and as long as you're there to clean up the mess, it's a massive productivity booster.

"But you can just prompt it"

Sure, you can prompt it to avoid those things, but the slop is still the default. I'm tired of it lol. I’ve yet to see an AI write over 2,000 lines of code in a row without hallucinating or introducing major breaking changes.

But it's fast

AI is fast. I’m completing tasks that used to take weeks in just a couple of hours. But bad code is cheap. If you're building fast but building garbage, you're just creating technical debt at 100x speed.

The Cost of Tokens

Tokens are everything. The cost of running these agents is wild. I’ve seen people spend up to $50k on AI tokens just to "vibe code" an app. To me, that’s more expensive than hiring an actual developer, but I’m not ready for that argument yet.

Prototypes in Minutes

I saw a tweet recently where someone wanted an MVP, contacted a dev, and the dev just sent him a v0 link. He vibe-coded his MVP and was thrilled. It would have cost him at least $500 to hire someone, but he got it for free in minutes. That’s where the power is.

Syntax is Cheap

Syntax has become a commodity. The real skill now is knowing what to build and how to keep the slop away. I don't care if the AI wrote the code in two seconds; I care if it handles edge cases and doesn't crash.

Vibe Coding is Built for Devs

This is the part most people get wrong. They think Vibe Coding is for people who don't know how to code. Nah, it's for us.

Vibe Coding makes great developers faster, but it makes bad developers dangerous. I saw a tweet where someone claimed they could vibe code a mobile banking app... lols. Imagine a banking app with any types everywhere and zero security audits because "the vibes were good." You'd be hacked in five minutes lmao.

Only a dev can look at AI output and distinguish between trash and genius. You need to know the rules to break them effectively. I use Antigravity to speed up my workflow, not to replace my brain. If you're using AI to build things you don't even understand, you're building a house of cards.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, Vibe Coding is just a new way to interact with our machines. It's fast, it's addictive, and it definitely feels like the future. But don't let the hype make you lazy.

The best devs will be the ones who can vibe with the AI while keeping their hands on the wheel. If you're just prompting and praying, you're not a developer, you're just a customer of OpenAI lol.

Stay clean, avoid the slop, and keep building. I'll see if AI replaces me in another 6 months like the CEO said... idk man.