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Vibe engineering

simonwillison.net

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Re: Vibe engineering

#81

Post by MontyCarloHall »

ares623 wrote: post #79
MontyCarloHall wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't like the kind of programming that an LLM can easily accomplish. For instance, I recently had to replace a hard-coded parameter with something specifiable on the command line, in an unfamiliar behemoth of a Java project. The hard-coded value was literally 20 function calls deep in a heavily dependency-injected stack, and the argument parser was of course bespoke. Claude Code oneshotted this in about 30 seconds…

wait you were unfamiliar with a behemoth Java project to the point of dreading making the change yourself, and yet only spent 5 minutes reviewing "someone else's" PR?

Yup. Replacing a single hard-coded parameter with a command line argument is hardly an earth shattering change. It's trivial to verify that the argument properly gets passed down the stack (and that passing it has no side-effects), but figuring out that stack in the first place would have taken a much longer time. Think of it like an NP-complete problem: hard to solve, but easy to check that a solution is correct.

For more complex modifications, I would have taken the time to better internalize the code architecture myself. But for a no-brainer case like this, an LLM oneshot is perfect.

Re: Vibe engineering

#82

Post by anthuswilliams »

dlisboa wrote: post #33
simonw wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The AI adds a ton. It really is like having a whole team of extra coders available, all of which can type faster than you. Getting good results out of that team is hard , because the bottleneck is how quickly you can review their workflow and point them in new directions. Understanding techniques like TDD, CI, linting, specification writing, research spikes etc turns out to be key to unlocking that potential. That's…

I’d say what you’re doing is architecting, like the old term for “software architect”. Those are professional who know how to design a system from a high level and have the experience to judge a good implementation of it but they themselves do not write the code. Likewise real world architects have the skills to design a building but do not care or know how to build it, relying on engineers for that. I think it’s imp…

If you had developed novel techniques of sfumato and chiaroscuro, spun new theories of perspective and human anatomy, invented new pigments, and then explained all of that to a journeyman painter, with enough coaching, detail, and oversight to ensure the final product was what you envisioned, I would argue that 100% makes you Da Vinci.

Da Vinci himself likely had dozens of nameless assistants laboring in his studio on new experiments with light and color, new chemistry, etc. Da Vinci was Da Vinci because of his vision and genius, not because of his dexterity with his hands.

Re: Vibe engineering

#83

Post by sarchertech »

When pigeons are offered random rewards from a treat dispenser, they start doing all kinds of funny little dances and movements because they think the rewards are in response to their actions.

Re: Vibe engineering

#84

Post by gonzo41 »

DowsingSpoon wrote: post #61
chucknthem wrote: post #56

Funny I'm a professional engineer and happily call myself "vibe coding" when writing code these days, it started as tongue in cheek, but now I've embraced it. Being good at vibe coding is just being good at coding, the best practices still apply. I don't feel we need another term for it. It'll just be how almost everyone writes code in the future. Just like using an IDE.

If you’re looking at the AI-generated output then you’re not Vibe Coding. Period. Let’s not dilute and destroy the term just as it’s beginning to become a useful label.

Wait, are people not reading the AI code they use?

Re: Vibe engineering

#85

Post by caseyohara »

gonzo41 wrote: post #84
DowsingSpoon wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you’re looking at the AI-generated output then you’re not Vibe Coding. Period. Let’s not dilute and destroy the term just as it’s beginning to become a useful label.

Wait, are people not reading the AI code they use?

Nope. That's the "vibe" part of Vibe Coding™.

> The developer does not review or edit the code, but solely uses tools and execution results to evaluate it and asks the LLM for improvements. Unlike traditional AI-assisted coding or pair programming, the human developer avoids examination of the code, accepts AI-suggested completions without human review, and focuses more on iterative experimentation than code correctness or structure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibe_coding

Re: Vibe engineering

#86

Post by peteforde »

bigiain wrote: post #70
peteforde wrote: post #11

My issue with this term is that it muddies the waters for people who are using LLMs to assist with types of engineering beyond just writing code. I've used GPT to rapidly get up to speed with just about every aspect of circuit design, CAD, CNC... the list is long. Coding is often involved in most of these domains now, but if everything is assumed to be code-first, it leaves people who are doing different work with a…

> My issue with this term is that it muddies the waters for people who are using LLMs to assist with types of engineering beyond just writing code. I'm now imagining me dying as a vibe-engineered truck has a steering/brake failure and crashes into me sending flying through the vibe-engineered papier-mâché bridge guardrails, and feeling sweet sweet release as I plummet to my doom.

It's easy to confuse cynicism for humor.

Look, if you enjoy calculating a table of dozens of resistor value combinations for a feedback network that prefers reels you have on your PnP, you keep knocking yourself out.

Re: Vibe engineering

#87

Post by therein »

plainOldText wrote: post #54

A better term would be “Augmented Engineering” (AE). You want something to inspire engineers to do their best work. When you can expand your capabilities using the power of AI, then yeah, you can do your best work; hence augmented engineering . But vibing? Not so much. I guess AE could also stand for Advanced Engineering , after all the AI gives you the power to access and understand the latest in engineering knowled…

> A better term would be “Augmented Engineering” (AE).

I don't think it necessarily deserves a special name. It is just engineering. You don't say book assisted engineering when you use a book as a reference. It is just engineering.

> But vibing? Not so much.

Just call it yolo engineering. Or machine outsourced irresponsible lmao engineering.

> I guess AE could also stand for Advanced Engineering, after all the AI gives you the power to access and understand the latest in engineering knowledge, on demand, which you can then apply to your work.

Oh god.

Re: Vibe engineering

#88

Post by [deleted] »

chucknthem wrote: post #56

Funny I'm a professional engineer and happily call myself "vibe coding" when writing code these days, it started as tongue in cheek, but now I've embraced it. Being good at vibe coding is just being good at coding, the best practices still apply. I don't feel we need another term for it. It'll just be how almost everyone writes code in the future. Just like using an IDE.

[deleted]
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