I’d outlined a fun little newsletter item on AI runtimes, including defining the term—“runtime” being one of those words like “platform” that nerds love to say and then forget to explain—but then the New York Times Opinion section emailed to ask if I’d explain vibe coding. We’ll do runtimes next week.

I know that being published in the Times is an unbelievable privilege. However, for a long moment, I thought, Do I want to do this? I’m gonna get yelled at.

But I did want to do it, and here is the result. I’m deeply convinced that it’s possible to accelerate software development with AI coding—not deprofessionalize it entirely, or simplify it so that everything is prompts, but make it into a more accessible craft. Things which not long ago cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to pull off might come for hundreds of dollars, and be doable by you, or your cousin. This is a remarkable accelerant, dumped into the public square at a bad moment, with no guidance or manual—and the reaction of many people who could gain the most power from these tools is rejection and anxiety. 

But as I wrote:

I collect stories of software woe. I think of the friend at an immigration nonprofit who needs to click countless times, in mounting frustration, to generate critical reports. Or the small business owners trying to operate everything with email and losing orders as a result. Or my doctor, whose time with patients is eaten up by having to tap furiously into the hospital’s electronic health record system.

After decades of stories like those, I believe there are millions, maybe billions, of software products that don’t exist but should: Dashboards, reports, apps, project trackers and countless others. People want these things to do their jobs, or to help others, but they can’t find the budget. They make do with spreadsheets and to-do lists.

My industry is famous for saying “no,” or selling you something you don’t need. We have an earned reputation as a lot of really tiresome dudes. But I think if vibe coding gets a little bit better, a little more accessible and a little more reliable, people won’t have to wait on us. 

I don’t expect to change any minds; that’s not how minds work. I just wanted to make sure that I used the platform offered by the Times to say, in as cheerful a way as possible: Hey, this new power is real, and it should be in as many hands as possible. I believe everyone should have good software, and that it’s more possible now than it was a few years ago. And indeed, I’m getting yelled at. I’m sure you’ll tell me what you think, too.