On Vibe Coding

Vibe coding is sitting back and letting the LLM drive. It is accepting that I don't care what my assembly looks like, why should I care what my javascript looks like? It is trusting an LLM more than the hundreds of library authors who's code I run every npm install.

This feels like new behavior. If feels different watching my IDE code for me. In other respects, it's doing what senior engineers have done for years: let junior engineers write code, and then review, analyze, critique, and correct.

I find myself writing requirements docs, prioritizing my backlog and thinking how to translate business needs into a technical system we can build today. These have always been the domain of an artitect or senior engineer. The difference now is the current state of the art requires more immediate oversight of each step in their work but works more quickly than any junior engineer.

The amount of oversite needed and the expected quality bar will change rappidly over the next 3-6 months. "Vibe coding" is a great brand and excellent marketing. But it has always been with us. If there has been a change it is accepting that our value add is not in the knowledge and use of arcane technical minucia. It is knowing how to translate outcomes in technical designs that can be built today.

I look forward to the next level up.