Will Software Development Thrive on Intuition? Exploring the Future of Tech Innovation

Coding is often seen as a way to communicate specific actions to a computer. But now, with AI tools like ChatGPT, you don’t need to know how to code. You can simply describe what you want in plain English, and the AI can turn that into code. A former OpenAI researcher, Andrej Karpathy, has called this new trend “vibe coding,” and it’s becoming popular in the tech world.

This approach, powered by large language models (LLMs) from companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, could make programming easier for everyone. However, there’s still uncertainty about whether this method can create reliable code for real projects. Tools like Cursor Composer, GitHub Copilot, and Replit Agent are making coding more accessible, but questions linger.

Vibe coding flips the script on traditional coding. Instead of focusing on exactness and precision, it embraces a more laid-back vibe. Karpathy explained it on February 2, describing how it feels to just let things flow: “I see stuff, say stuff, run stuff, and copy-paste stuff, and it mostly works.”

When vibe coding leads to an error, you simply send it back to the AI, accept the suggested fixes, and try again. This approach contrasts sharply with traditional coding practices, which focus on careful planning and thorough testing.

Karpathy jokingly pointed out that vibe coding can be for the “ultimate lazy programmer.” He revealed, “I ask for the dumbest things, like ‘decrease the padding on the sidebar by half,’ because I’m too lazy to find it myself.”