{"id":116009,"date":"2025-05-19T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/?post_type=ftm_article&p=116009"},"modified":"2025-05-16T16:05:50","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T20:05:50","slug":"vibe-coding","status":"publish","type":"ftm_article","link":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/artificial-intelligence\/vibe-coding","title":{"rendered":"Vibe coding is rewriting the rules of technology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When I first heard the term \u201cvibe coding\u201d earlier this year, I’ll admit I was skeptical. As someone who has spent significant time working with AI algorithms and predictive modeling, I’ve witnessed plenty of viral AI trends come and go since the release of ChatGPT in 2022<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those unfamiliar with the concept, vibe coding \u2014 a term coined by Andrej Karpathy<\/a>, former AI director at OpenAI and Tesla, in February 2025 \u2014 represents a fundamental reimagining of the software development process. Rather than meticulously crafting each line of code, developers \u201cvibe\u201d with AI tools using natural language \u2014 they get to focus on vision and creative direction, while the AI handles the technical implementation. It’s less about understanding every function and more about communicating intent and desired outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This taps into my longtime fascination with the intersection of human creativity and machine capability. As the CTO of Chima<\/a>, a Y Combinator-backed applied AI research lab, I strive to make AI agents useful for the most cutting-edge media, consumer, and business applications, and as a Stanford computer science alum, I collaborate closely with the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI<\/a>, whose mission to make AI collaborative, augmentative, and life-enhancing perfectly matches my own ambitions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, I’ll share my experiences exploring the vibe coding movement, reflect on what I learned at recent vibe coding gatherings in San Francisco, and examine what this shift means for the future of technology development. Whether you’re a seasoned developer, an AI enthusiast, or simply curious about how we’ll build technology in the coming years, the vibe coding revolution deserves your attention \u2014 and it might just change how you think about human-machine collaboration forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is vibe coding?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned earlier, the origin of vibe coding can be traced to a seemingly casual post<\/a> by Andrej Karpathy on X in February 2025. \u201cThere\u2019s a new kind of coding I call \u2018vibe coding\u2019,\u201d he wrote, \u201cwhere you fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists.\u201d The tweet landed harder than expected \u2014 developers everywhere reported that they were already experimenting with the idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As someone who began coding at a young age \u2014 I developed my first algorithm to help address climate change in South Africa when I was 16 \u2014 I’ve witnessed the evolution of programming methodologies firsthand. Traditional coding is precise and unforgiving. Every semicolon matters; every function must be meticulously crafted. It\u2019s an approach that has served us well, but it has also created significant barriers to entry for those without formal training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vibe coding turns that on its head. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At its core, it\u2019s about collaborating with AI through natural language to build software, focusing on the \u201cvibe\u201d or essence of what you want to create rather than the technical implementation. You describe your vision, and the AI handles the code generation. When errors occur, you don\u2019t dive into debugging line by line \u2014 you simply explain the issue to the AI and let it propose solutions. Vibe coding removes many traditional technical barriers, allowing people to focus on problem-solving and creativity rather than syntax and technical minutiae. The human becomes the creative director rather than the technical executor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re entering an era of human-AI co-agency, with humans and smart systems operating as equal partners.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What makes vibe coding particularly fascinating is how it reflects a broader evolution in our relationship with technology: We’re moving from an era where humans must adapt to the rigid logic of machines to one where machines increasingly adapt to human modes of expression. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is something I believe Gen Z is going to fundamentally lead as it\u2019s something we\u2019ve been demanding for some time. This shift also parallels developments I’ve observed in other fields, from natural language interfaces to generative design tools that respond to conceptual direction rather than explicit instructions. I call this \u201cco-agency with AI.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just a few years ago, \u201ctalking to a computer\u201d meant tapping commands into a terminal or navigating clunky drop-down menus. Now we chat with AI agents that remember context, infer intent, and tackle sophisticated projects alongside us. This evolution is reshaping creativity, productivity, and the very texture of work. We\u2019re entering an era of human-AI co-agency, with humans and smart systems operating as equal partners to accomplish what neither could do alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That vision isn\u2019t new. On December 9, 1968, Doug Engelbart and his team at the Augmentation Research Center squeezed the future of personal computing into a 90-minute stage demo at San Francisco\u2019s Brooks Hall. Their presentation, later dubbed \u201cThe Mother of All Demos<\/a>,\u201d previewed technologies that would influence the Alto PC and Macintosh and Windows operating systems, but more importantly, it communicated Engelbart\u2019s belief that computers should amplify human intellect, not replace it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This demo was the audience\u2019s first glimpse of true human-computer partnership: real-time dialogue between person and machine to solve problems together. Every modern chat window, collaborative doc, and video-call whiteboard still echoes that afternoon in 1968.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Engelbart\u2019s \u201cMother of All Demos\u201d sketched a future where humans guide high-level intent while computers shoulder the technical grunt work. That future is finally materializing through vibe coding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vibe coding IRL<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Vibe coding isn\u2019t some hand-wavy X trend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s showing up in real rooms. It\u2019s pulling in crowds, and off-loading real technical work. In San Francisco and online, people are convening for sessions to explore the technique, and at hackathons, they translate plain-language ambition into running software in real time, with crowds following along to see just how far the hands-off coding approach can go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In early April alone, I saw three gatherings \u2014 Convex\u2019s demo sprint in SoMa<\/a> (April 11), Signal Fire\u2019s one-day hackathon on 2nd Street<\/a> (April 18), and the VIBE25-1: After Dark Vibe-Coding Hackathon<\/a> (April 18) \u2014 draw hundreds of builders who collectively shipped dozens of working prototypes in less time than it takes most teams to file a Jira ticket. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of these events had similar descriptions: \u200b\u201dVIBE CODING IS THE NEW DEFAULT \u2014 SHIP FAST, HAVE FUN\u201d and \u201c\u200bLet’s take vibe coding to the absolute fullest. Come build something experimental, fast, and actually useful. No pitching. Just deploying.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What struck me most across all three events was the emphasis on \u201cfast\u201d \u2014 a freshman and an L4 Meta engineer could pair-prompt the same model and stand up a multiplayer sketch board in 30 minutes \u2014 so, to test the potential time savings of the \u201cdescribe-it-and-let-AI-ship-it\u201d approach for myself, I turned to Manus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Manus felt less like babysitting a chat window and more like tossing the keys to a competent junior teammate.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Chinese startup drew widespread attention in March, when it launched a demo of a general AI agent that could complete various tasks. Fresh off a reported $75 million benchmark-led round at a $500 million valuation<\/a>, Manus describes its flagship product, also dubbed Manus, as \u201ca general AI agent that turns your thoughts into actions\u2026[It] excels at various tasks in work and life, getting everything done while you rest.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My prompt for Manus was simple:<\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n

I am looking to share Freethink\u2019s (https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/) mission and vision.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Our stories have one big theme in common: change.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Go beyond surface-level news to explore the innovations driving real change, from AI and robotics to energy and biotech breakthroughs.<\/p>\n

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Through in-depth features and insightful interviews, our coverage not only inspires, it empowers you to understand the forces shaping our world.\u2028\u2028Join us at freethink.com for the latest insights from the front lines of change.<\/p>\n

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Craft a compelling space and website to publish this, targeting Gen-Z.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Manus spun up a workspace, hashed through design decisions on its own, and deployed a live microsite<\/a> without asking for my input every 30 seconds. Total cost: about $20. Total time: the length of a coffee meeting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compared with my early test of OpenAI\u2019s Operator<\/a>, Manus felt less like babysitting a chat window and more like tossing the keys to a competent junior teammate. That<\/em> is vibe coding: handing an idea to an LLM-driven agent, guiding it at the concept level, and receiving something usable \u2014 not just code snippets \u2014 on the other side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the session replay<\/a> and the final site<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A screenshot of the Freethink homepage created using Manus. <\/figcaption><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The 2025 Vibe Coding Game Jam<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One recent event that crystallized vibe coding\u2019s potential was the 2025 Vibe Coding Game Jam<\/a> sponsored by Bolt<\/a>, CodeRabbit<\/a>, and Lambda<\/a>. Running from approximately March 1\u201325, 2025 (the dates seemed to be at the whim of the founder), the event brought together developers, designers, and AI enthusiasts to create games where at least 80% of the code was generated by AI. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Game Jam was the brainchild of entrepreneur and indie developer Pieter Levels<\/a>, and the premise was simple: create games that were accessible on the web, free-to-play, and instantly playable \u2014 all through the power of vibe coding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the X post<\/a> where Levels announced the event and laid out six core rules:<\/p>\n\n\n\n