Vibe Coding: The New AI-Driven Era of Software Development
In early 2025, the term vibe coding began to circulate widely across the technology community. Coined by AI researcher Andrej Karpathy, it refers to a radically different way of building software. Instead of writing code line by line, the developer simply describes what they want to achieve in natural language, and an artificial intelligence system translates that description into executable code.
This article explores what vibe coding is, how it works, its main advantages and risks, and how it fits within the broader movement of AI-driven software development. It also examines the social and ethical dimensions of this emerging paradigm and what the future might look like if the “vibe” becomes mainstream.
What is Vibe Coding?
Vibe coding is a form of AI-assisted programming in which a developer describes a problem or a desired feature using natural language. A large language model (LLM), such as GPT or Claude, then generates the corresponding source code that implements it. Rather than acting as a mere autocomplete tool, the AI effectively becomes a creative collaborator capable of producing entire systems or applications from conceptual prompts.
The term was first introduced by Andrej Karpathy, former AI director at Tesla and a leading figure in the OpenAI ecosystem. In one of his social media posts, he summarised the concept with the now-famous phrase: “fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists.” He associated vibe coding with a freer, more experimental and iterative form of development. By mid-2025, Merriam-Webster had even listed “vibe coding” as an emerging slang term within technology.
It is important to distinguish vibe coding from traditional AI-assisted programming. Using an AI tool to generate snippets or suggest completions is not quite the same thing. What defines vibe coding is a change in mindset. Instead of controlling every detail of the code, the developer focuses on intention, results, and iterative feedback. Simon Willison, a well-known software engineer, has noted that if you still read and understand every line the AI produces, you are not truly vibe coding — you are simply using a language model as an assistant.
How Vibe Coding Works
Although the idea sounds straightforward, the practice of vibe coding involves a dynamic interplay between human creativity and machine intelligence. It typically begins with a prompt: the developer describes what they want, for example, “create an interactive dashboard using data from environmental sensors.” The AI produces the initial code, and the developer then refines it through follow-up instructions such as “make the colours change with temperature” or “add a live refresh feature.” This loop of experimentation and adjustment lies at the heart of vibe coding.
Developers primarily evaluate code through execution rather than inspection. They run the programme, see whether it behaves as expected, and request corrections when errors arise. Manual debugging still plays a role, but the relationship with code becomes more conversational than mechanical. Over time, trust in the AI fluctuates. Developers learn which tasks can be safely delegated and when to intervene directly. Researchers have described this as a process of “calibrating trust,” in which the human defines how much to rely on the system at each stage of development.
The Benefits of Vibe Coding
One of the greatest strengths of vibe coding is its speed. Ideas can be transformed into functional prototypes in a fraction of the time it would take traditional coding. This speed makes it particularly useful for startups, research teams and creative professionals who need to explore multiple directions quickly.
Another significant benefit is accessibility. People with limited technical training can now create simple applications or automate workflows without learning programming languages in depth. This democratisation of software creation could empower a new generation of makers and entrepreneurs.
By delegating repetitive or boilerplate tasks to the AI, developers can focus on strategic design and high-level logic. The workflow also encourages a sense of creative flow: instead of getting lost in syntax, the human partner can concentrate on goals, functionality and user experience. Many practitioners describe vibe coding as liberating, turning software creation into an expressive process similar to design or storytelling.
Risks and Limitations
Despite its promise, vibe coding carries significant risks. The most obvious one is the loss of understanding. Accepting generated code without reviewing it can lead to serious issues when something goes wrong. Bugs, security vulnerabilities or unexpected behaviours may remain unnoticed until they cause damage. As Andrew Ng has pointed out, vibe coding can sound effortless, but in reality, it remains cognitively demanding and far from trivial.
Quality and maintainability are also major concerns. Code produced by AI models may be inefficient, inconsistent or difficult to update, especially in large-scale projects. Furthermore, compliance and data protection become complex when generated code integrates external libraries or APIs without explicit human oversight. In 2025, a case involving the platform Base44 revealed security flaws in applications created through automated AI workflows, highlighting the importance of robust verification processes.
Culturally, some developers fear that vibe coding could erode traditional craftsmanship in software engineering. The discipline and rigour associated with manual coding is being replaced by superficial experimentation. Others have coined the term “vibe coding hell” to describe an over-reliance on AI, where developers use it for everything, including trivial tasks, eventually losing confidence in their own technical skills.
Vibe Coding and Artificial Intelligence
Vibe coding represents a natural evolution of generative AI. It is not just a new technique but a redefinition of the relationship between humans and machines. Instead of translating ideas into syntax, developers now express intentions through prompts, while the AI interprets and executes them. Researchers have called this shift a “mediation of intent,” where the act of programming becomes probabilistic and collaborative.
In this new model, cognitive work is redistributed. The human becomes a designer of prompts, a tester and a strategist, while the AI handles most of the implementation. Some scholars describe the process as “material disengagement” — the developer orchestrates code indirectly, maintaining creative control without manual manipulation.
Empirical studies show that vibe coders often experience high levels of creative flow and satisfaction when working with AI systems, even though they also face challenges such as latency, debugging uncertainty and fluctuating trust. Early adoption in technology firms like Notion and several AI startups suggests that vibe coding may soon become a standard practice for internal prototyping and innovation.
Responsible Use and Best Practices
To benefit from vibe coding without falling into its traps, developers should adopt specific best practices. Automated testing, static analysis and version control are essential to ensure reliability, even when the code is not fully read. Prompts should be written with transparency and clear objectives to avoid ambiguous or insecure results.
Human oversight must remain a core principle. Developers need to decide when to trust the AI and when to intervene manually, particularly in systems that handle sensitive data or critical operations. Maintaining detailed records of prompts and outputs can improve reproducibility and accountability.
Security audits and compliance checks are equally vital. AI-generated software must respect privacy standards and industry regulations. A hybrid approach, using vibe coding for rapid experimentation and conventional programming for critical components, seems to offer the best balance. Above all, developers should continue strengthening their ability to understand and review code, since comprehension remains the ultimate safeguard against failure.
The Future of Vibe Coding
Vibe coding marks a genuine paradigm shift in how software is created. It is not just about faster coding but about redefining the human role in development, from coder to orchestrator, from writer to conductor of intelligent systems. Academic research increasingly treats it as a socio-technical phenomenon that blends trust, creativity and delegation between humans and machines.
Yet, vibe coding is not a magical solution. Without testing, documentation and ethical oversight, projects built on “vibes” can easily become unreliable or even dangerous. The next few years will likely bring more sophisticated tools, conversational interfaces, and automated audits tailored to AI-generated code. We may also see the emergence of new professional standards focused on safety, transparency and accountability in AI-assisted development.
If used responsibly, vibe coding could democratise software creation, accelerate innovation and make technology more accessible than ever before. But like all powerful tools, it demands critical thinking, human supervision and a commitment to quality. The true promise of vibe coding lies not in abandoning code, but in transforming the act of coding into a more intuitive, creative and collaborative process.











