That was the original intent, but now vibe coding is exactly synonymous with AI-assisted coding with the public at large. That's probably irreversible, and it's what Ng is highlighting.
How depressing. I sure hope it's not irreversible, but I feel it will be, because the number of novice "vibe coders" out there severely outweighs the number of experienced programmers.
I think Rick Rubin has it right that this is a kind of "punk" coding and I think vibe coding is actually a good term in that regard.
This rings especially true for me as a non-software engineer that took decades to appreciate punk music. I grew up on "virtuoso" shred guitar music and jazz. "A real musician spends hours a day in the woodshed learning their craft. Not just anyone can pick up a guitar and start making music."
I think the analogy also works because the virtuoso had a huge leg up on the untrained musician if they also decided to make simpler music.
On a longer time frame with the analogy, the next fed chairman obviously will not have a degree in clarinet from Juilliard like 99 year old Alan Greenspan.
That was the original intent, but now vibe coding is exactly synonymous with AI-assisted coding with the public at large. That's probably irreversible, and it's what Ng is highlighting.