Video / Short
The Hidden Cost of AI-Written Code
Pete Cooper explains what vibe coding is good for and which parts of software development it leaves untouched. He sets out why a quick AI-built prototype is still a long way from a production product.
Video summary
Pete Cooper describes vibe coding as using an LLM such as ChatGPT or Claude to build an app, which in practice means a demo or early prototype. He thinks that has its place, because it quickly shows whether an idea will work and gives you something to keep riffing on.
His concern is that it covers only part of the software development cycle. He splits a project into thirds. The first third is defining requirements, which means talking to customers and understanding their workflows and the problems you are solving. The last third is turning the prototype into production, which he calls a heavy lift. In his view neither has changed much with vibe coding.
What has changed is the middle. Producing a demo quickly has shortened the overall cycle, he says, without removing the rest of it. The risk is the unrealistic expectation that a prototype can stand in for a finished product.
Video transcript
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Vibe coding has been coming a bit of a trend and sometimes not such a good idea, but what it is effectively is you're using an LLM, ChatGPT or Claude, to develop an app and you're basically developing a demo or a early prototype. And that's great. And I think that has its place because it can quickly demonstrate to you whether the thing is going to work and you can continually riff off it. But it's not the complete software development cycle and it's missing two pieces. Imagine a full project to be about long, then the front piece, let's call it a third, is defining the requirements.
And that's where you got to talk to your customers, understand what their workflows and what problems you're solving. And the back third, which is turning that prototype or that demo into a production, is also a big heavy lift. And those two things pretty much haven't changed with vibe coding. But the piece in the middle definitely has had a big change. The ability to produce a demo quickly has reduced the overall software development life cycle process significantly, but it hasn't eliminated it. And there is, unfortunately, unrealistic expectations that come from the ability to produce a prototype and expecting that to be able to play product.