“Vibe Coding” and the Illusion of Effortless Engineering

The tech world is always chasing the next big thing.

whether it’s no-code tools, AI co-pilots, or now, “vibe coding.” The term, mostly tongue-in-cheek, refers to letting AI tools (like Cursor, GitHub Copilot, or ChatGPT) do most of the heavy lifting while the human developer steps back.

sometimes literally, like scrolling through their phone or sipping coffee — and watches code generate itself.

One developer recently shared a blunt critique of this style of working, calling vibe coding a “scam” after trying it for just two days.

Their frustration is palpable, and it hit a nerve in the dev community. Here’s the core of what they said — and why it sparked such an intense reaction.

The Case Against Vibe Coding

The post lays out a brutal five-point takedown:

1. No learning – By outsourcing too much, the dev ended up feeling dumber, not smarter.
2. Terrible code – The AI-generated output was described as “💩”, hard to debug, and better off scrapped.
3. AI limits – Tools got stuck in loops trying to fix problems they created.
4. Stress instead of ease – What starts as fun quickly devolves into confusion and anxiety.
5. Loss of engineering identity – Without active thinking, the user felt like a product manager rather than a developer.

It’s not a rejection of AI coding tools entirely — it’s a rejection of blind faith in them.

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The Community Weighs In

The post drew dozens of comments, showcasing a spectrum of reactions. Some fully agreed:

“You are exactly on point. It’s funny how many people say otherwise without any experience.”

“Most of the code I get is slop. Usually I have it do base stuff so that I can add things/edit.”

“If AI is giving you bad work, congratulations — you're actually smarter than the chatbot.”

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Others took a more nuanced stance:

“Sounds like a skill issue.”
(A sentiment echoed by others who believe vibe coding can work with the right approach.)

Claimed the opposite experience, having built “fully functional products” with AI help.

Joked that AI isn’t a silver bullet and that genuine engineers are still very necessary.

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The key theme? Vibe coding might look magical in theory, but in practice, it often leads to messy, brittle projects unless you treat the AI like a junior dev, not a genius co-founder.

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So, Is Vibe Coding a Scam?

Not quite — but it is misunderstood.

AI-assisted coding is powerful, but the “vibe” mindset — hands-off, no plan, pure improvisation — sets people up for failure. As one commenter said, it can work better if you:

• Go in with a clear plan
• Work modularly
• Create rules and structure
• Treat AI as a tool, not a replacement for thinking

The original poster’s frustration is valid — many people do get seduced by the illusion that AI will just figure things out. But most of the time, especially for complex systems, that dream dissolves fast.