The guy who coined 'vibe coding' now says he's never felt more behind as a programmer

Andrej Karpathy, a prominent figure in artificial intelligence and a founding member of OpenAI, has expressed a sense of being outpaced in the rapidly evolving programming landscape. In a recent social media post, he revealed, "I've never felt this much behind as a programmer." Karpathy highlighted the significant transformation occurring in the software engineering field, observing that programmers are contributing fewer lines of code as the industry adapts to new technologies. He mentioned feeling that he could become significantly more effective by leveraging the latest advancements that have emerged over the past year, yet he recognizes a challenge in fully harnessing these tools. The rise of AI-driven tools like Cursor, Claude Code, and Codex is reshaping how coding is approached, leading some experts to label 2025 as the year that programming will change irreversibly. Karpathy, who coined the term "vibe coding" earlier this year, described the practice of using AI to generate code as an exciting yet daunting development. He explained that to vibe code is to engage with AI in a way that aligns with the creative flow of development. Despite the potential of these AI tools, Karpathy likened them to a powerful yet complex weapon that requires skill and understanding to use effectively. He noted, "It sometimes misfires or produces unexpected results, but other times it can yield extraordinary outcomes, solving problems with remarkable efficiency." Boris Cherny, another influential figure in the AI coding space, echoed Karpathy's sentiments, noting that many developers face a learning curve as they adapt to these tools. He pointed out that new graduates might thrive in this environment as they are less likely to have preconceived notions about AI's capabilities. The rapid pace of improvement in AI models means developers must continuously adjust their understanding of what these tools can achieve, presenting both a challenge and an opportunity for growth in the programming community.