Did Vibe Coding Kill Software Engineering...

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Anyone who thinks vibe coding is going to kill software engineering has never worked on a real project with real users that requires real results in a secure, consistent, and reliable manner.

The funny thing is LLM sometimes starts hiding errors by hardcoding responses instead of calling APIs to retrieve the data. Don't pressure it too hard to fix something if it can't do it in a couple of tries :D

It's like building a go-cart, you can ride it on your back yard. When you push you vibe-coded app to production, is like bringing your go-cart to 12-lane highway. Your app is similar to house in spagetti western, just a prop, looking like a real house. Until you open the door.

It is like learning a framework without learning the programming language on which that framework is built

A year and a half ago I started Python Academy and data analysis, all from scratch. I learned a lot on this channel and started creating web apps in Flask. As a beginner it was very challenging, but I mainly learned the mindset of a programmer. And then AI came along. I'm really glad it came later, because now, even though I mainly use GPT, whenever I have a problem and GPT has trouble finding a solution, I can eventually figure it out because I understand the code and know which direction to go. If I had started learning a year later....I would have been screwed😃

I'm 100 percent with you on that. I'm using cursor in chat mode, to remain in full control. No agent mode. I read and rewrite all of suggestions if I'm not satisfied with the result. AI is autocompete on steroids. Huge pack of steroids, actually. But not a thinking machine.

I wrote a great article on the topic, particularly about the similarity with slot machines in casinos. It’s called Cursor is the New Vegas. And I think the point you’re raising is very relevant , especially the no-code aspect, which often turns out to be more expensive because any change usually requires hiring real developers to do the job.

Its so nice to see a natural take on ai from you. I personally am looking forward for more vibe coders while I use these tools to not automate the writing process but to learn how coding works, if this happens maybe the software engineering market will go back to normal

Brilliant insight and analysis of the Vibe Coding Razzmatazz, very well done Tim... :-)) And this is coming from an engineer who has been building tools as a system programmer for the last 40 years.