Vibe Coding is a Crock

As you can imagine, I have been thinking a lot about, and experimenting with "vibe coding", the trend of using AI-assisted tools like Cursor to write the lion's share of a projects code, and if it's really the future of software dev.

And as you can also probably guess, I have thoughts.

Things are not what they seem.

Look, if you read any of the countless articles on Linkedin, you would be forgiven for thinking that services like cursor can make anyone a software engineer. Those articles are either written by folks who don't actually know how to craft applications, and are understandably impressed and excited that, with a few prompts cursor has built something which, on the surface, works.

Or they are written by people who know better and are trying to sell you something. I really hate that group. Apostates, the whole lot.

You'll notice some very intentional wording in that first group. Cursor is a service, not a code editor. If it goes away tomorrow or you are priced out of its use, there ends your "software engineering". You will notice I also said cursor created something that, on the surface, works. Not they, not you. Cursor.

You, the prompter, didn't build jack, or shit, for that matter. Cursor built it, which means you are replaceable. Ideas are cheap, execution is everything, and if you aren't doing any of the execution, why do you even matter?

The answer of course, is you don't. At all. Ever. That's why I take exception with the idea that this is the future of software development.

The statement "Now anyone can become a coder!" is bullshit. The mountain of things you don't understand about what you are attempting is staggering and quite frankly the assertion is insulting to those of us who have put in decades learning our craft.

But not endangering, since I have seen the absolute garbage that claude and gpt spit out, and that is after I, a seasoned engineer, have given it detailed instructions to minimize the stupidity.

I shudder to think of the software being written and launched, right now, by people who don't have even a basic understanding of data sanitization, authorization/authentication and usability.

Terrifying. Truly.

But things can be better

For those of us who are experienced crafters of code, tools like Cursor can be an incredible boost to our creativity, productivity and efficiency, if not our sanity. Definitely not our sanity. Cursor drives me crazy on a daily basis.

So how do we use AI?

Unfortunately that is a question with as many answers as there are people to ask them, so I can't really answer it for you, but I can give you examples of how I am using it. And it really has helped. Honest, scouts honor. Yes I was a scout. Let's move on.

• Conversations as Memory: This has been the number one benefit for me. As an older human, I find it harder to keep track of all the crap I am doing and have done. Being able to open cursor, and ask the AI to refresh my memory about what we were working on, what was done and what is left to do, has been incredible.
• Research: From looking up the most recent way to solve an error or fix a bug, to the accepted practices for implementing a new feature in a language I am new to, being able to ask cursor to do these tasks, while I tend to some other item that I am comfortable doing, has been a game changer for me.
• Bootstrapping: I have developed a scaffolding and infrastructure approach that is a solid base to work from, for how I like to work. Being able to teach that to cursor, so that the setup process for any new project is automated, with failure tolerance and decision trees for issues that might pop up, has been a huge time saver.

What this gives me

What I really want, I mean really want, is to never have to do the boring crap, like google searching for bug info, figuring out what packages to install, etc. I want to focus on solving the interesting problems that are the real joy of development.

That's why I enjoy writing code. It's why I enjoy designing interfaces. It's the only thing I really enjoy about leading teams. I like solving problems

Anything that can help me get to the problem solving faster, and make that process more enjoyable is a welcome addition to my toolkit. But it's in the toolkit, not the drivers seat. Keep that distinction in mind friends.