In 2025, the cultural landscape took a fascinating turn: trying hard went out of fashion. Why exert genuine effort when AI can do just enough for you? Enter: vibes. This newly embraced solution takes minimal personal investment and understanding, allowing us to just go with the flow.
The trend of relying on vibes started making waves well before 2025. In our post-pandemic world, many people began feeling increasingly distant from the shared sense of reality that once grounded us. Things really escalated with the rise of accessible AI tools and agents.
A pivotal moment in this shift was when OpenAI’s Andrej Karpathy introduced the term “vibe coding” in February. He described it on X, stating, “There’s a new kind of coding I call ‘vibe coding,’ where you fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists.” Essentially, he’s saying we no longer need to sweat the details. When encountering error messages, he casually copy-pastes solutions and carries on.
Karpathy wasn’t alone in his embrace of vibe coding. Executives from major companies took note. For example, Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski admitted he begins feature mockups with vibe coding, asking his engineers to bring them to life, regardless of his limited coding experience. Even Google CEO Sundar Pichai called his experience with AI-generated code “delightful.”
This vibe coding gained so much traction that it earned a spot as Collins Dictionary’s Word of the Year. However, it captures more than just a trend; it reflects our collective surrender to “good enough.” Vibes have infiltrated nearly every aspect of life.
Got an essay due? No problem! Vibe writing can get it finished—though perhaps not at the highest quality. AI writing detection tools struggle to keep up with this trend. A report by TurnItIn noted that around one in five college papers had signs of AI-generated text last year. This aligns with a survey from Inside Higher Ed, showing 20% of students admitted to using AI for their essays. It’s a wave that goes beyond the university, too. Microsoft even adopted the label “vibe writing” for the output from its AI assistant, Copilot.
OpenAI took this vibe to the next level with ChatGPT Atlas. This innovative browser showcases built-in AI agents that can handle various tasks for you. Ask it to manage your grocery order, and it’ll slowly gather items for your Instacart. Need a spreadsheet while you surf the web? It can do that too. They dubbed this “vibe lifing,” hinting that you could delegate your daily chores to AI. Sure, your AI might accidentally mix up your grocery request and order 4,000 pounds of meat instead of a few patties, but hey, at least you didn’t have to do it.
Many companies riding this vibe wave are thriving on what’s been labeled vibe revenue. Despite not making profit and burning through billions, they complete massive funding rounds that set high valuations, all based on nothing but vibes.
However, offloading your tasks to AI isn’t a universal win. In fact, it tends to flop for most. It’s primarily the executives who enjoy vibe coding while imagining cutting their workforce for AI solutions. For the rest of us, those vibes can be pesky.
As the economy slowed down, hiring freezes became common, leaving recent graduates in tough spots. A new niche appeared: professionals tasked with refining the low-quality outputs generated by AI. Companies that dived headfirst into vibe coding now hire software engineers to fix the messes created. A survey revealed that one in three engineers spend more time rectifying AI-generated code than they would have if they wrote it by hand.
This trend is echoed in other fields. People are actively employed to polish AI-written content and address quality issues stemming from AI-generated images. The output from vibe coding has produced a lot of chaos. Those not benefiting from hefty paychecks find themselves cleaning up the aftermath so others can flaunt the supposed capabilities of AI. If this is our future, many would agree: it isn’t the vibe.
What is vibe coding?
Vibe coding is a trend where programmers rely on AI and intuitive feel rather than traditional coding techniques, often resulting in hasty or subpar outputs.
Has vibe coding been effective?
While some executives find success using vibe coding, many others have reported increased frustrations and decreased quality in their work, leading to more fixes than benefits.
Are students using AI for essays?
Yes, surveys show around 20% of college students have utilized AI tools to complete their essays, reflecting the growing acceptance of AI in academic settings.
How are companies addressing AI issues?
Many companies are hiring software engineers to fix the shortcuts and problems resulting from vibe coding, as they find AI-generated outputs often require significant human intervention.
What does the future hold for AI and vibe culture?
While AI continues to evolve, reliance on vibes without sufficient care can lead to more inconsistent outputs, suggesting that we might need to rethink our approach moving forward.
As we venture deeper into this vibe-driven culture, it’s essential to stay engaged and critical. Are you finding value in the current trend, or do you think we should refocus our efforts on quality? Share your thoughts below!