As I sit here waiting twiddling my thumbs waiting for Claude Code to finish working on a feature, I’m thinking about the stark difference in experience between the kind of coding when working with an AI vs. the kind of coding where you’re actually writing it yourself.
Coding with AI isn’t the same as normal coding, but accelerated. It’s a completely different developer experience. One where you’re passively waiting for something to happen vs. actively struggling with a problem.
It’s reminiscent of the comparisons between television and video games as “lean back” vs. “lean forward” experiences. Vibe coding is, for the most part, a “lean back” experience.
It’s way faster, and being able to see features working quickly feels good. There’s less direct struggle in the creation process, which was painful before, especially for someone who isn’t a super efficient developer. But it also makes it feel more bland, like I’m sitting here at a slot machine pulling the lever, hoping something works eventually.
What are the implications of this over the long term?