My Year of Vibe Coding
AI-assisted software development could have liberated programmers. Instead, it has become the latest way for Big Tech to confine us.
My Year of Vibe Coding recounts the author's experience with generative artificial intelligence in programming. After joking about creating an app for tracking barbecue side dish preferences, the author began using AI to write small programs. This newfound ease with AI programming enabled the author to develop a fully functional iPhone app, Beanslaw, which functioned as a searchable map of smoked-meat joints with sophisticated intelligence to filter out various barbecue cuisines.
As the author became more accustomed to AI-assisted coding, they sought to explore its broader implications for computing culture. This exploration led them to draw parallels between early visions of computing's populist power, expressed by figures like Ted Nelson and Seymour Papert, and the current trajectory of AI-assisted coding.
Despite the promise of reviving the idea of ordinary people creating software for themselves, the author argues that AI-assisted coding, so far, has largely continued a trend where privileged few decide what computers are for, and the rest of us fall in line.
Written by urgent.news from The Atlantic's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
