University of Kwazulu-Natal

Vibe Coding The Double Edged Sword In Modern Software Development

Bonisiwe Shabane
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vibe coding the double edged sword in modern software development

The term “vibe coding” has been floating around developer circles lately, and while it sounds like something you’d do at a hackathon after too much Red Bull, it actually captures something important about how... For those unfamiliar, vibe coding refers to the practice of using AI coding assistants to rapidly prototype and build applications based on high-level descriptions or “vibes” rather than detailed specifications. Having spent the last half-year experimenting with this approach across several projects, I’ve found myself simultaneously impressed and frustrated. Like most powerful tools, AI-assisted development comes with trade-offs that aren’t immediately obvious. Rather than rehashing the usual discussions about productivity gains or code quality, I want to focus on two fundamental shifts that I believe will have lasting implications for how we build software. Building the things we already know we want to build faster is definitely a benefit, but I’ll argue that one of the most transformative aspects of vibe coding is that it dramatically lowers the...

Traditional software development has always had a high cost of entry for experimentation. Even with modern frameworks and tooling, spinning up a new project to test an idea meant setting up repositories, configuring build systems, establishing project structure, and writing enough boilerplate to get something functional. By the time you had a minimal viable prototype, you’d already invested several hours – sometimes days. This friction meant that only ideas that survived initial scrutiny and planning sessions made it to the experimental stage. With AI assistance, that entire barrier has essentially vanished. I can now take a half-formed idea and have a working prototype in minutes.

Want to see if that data visualization concept makes sense? Describe it to Claude and you’ll have a D3.js implementation running in your browser before you finish your coffee. Curious about how a particular API integration might work? The AI can scaffold out the entire flow, including error handling and edge cases you hadn’t considered. Written by William Golovlev on September 08, 2025 In the world of software development, we often talk about getting into “the zone”—a state of deep concentration where the code seems to write itself.

This is the essence of vibe coding: putting on some music, getting into a flow state, and letting your fingers fly across the keyboard without the usual methodical planning and thought. It’s exhilarating, productive, and for many developers, it just works. But while the immediate results can be satisfying, this approach is a double-edged sword that should be wielded with extreme caution. Vibe coding is so appealing because it taps into a creative and almost intuitive side of programming. It feels like you’re building something quickly, as you’re not getting bogged down by details. It’s perfect for:

The very things that make vibe coding effective are also its greatest weaknesses. By relying on intuition over deliberation, you bypass critical steps that are essential for growth and long-term success. The rise of AI code assistants like GitHub Copilot and conversational tools has introduced a new, more potent form of vibe coding. Instead of just putting on headphones and letting your fingers fly, you can now simply tell an AI what you want to build and have it generate the code for you. We serve excellence, you create greatness 🌟 In the fast-paced world of software development, new methodologies and trends emerge constantly.

One approach gaining traction, often in connection to artificial intelligence, is “vibe coding.” While it promises increased productivity and a more fluid development experience, it also introduces a unique set of cybersecurity risks that... Vibe coding also argues for an enhanced security approach using runtime protection and remediation. At its core, vibe coding is a development approach where a programmer relies heavily on intuition, immediate gratification, and a sense of “flow” rather than strictly adhering to predefined architectural patterns, rigid planning, or... Think of it as coding in the moment, guided by what “feels right” and the immediate results on screen. It’s less about meticulous foresight and more about iterative, almost improvisational, creation. This often involves:

From a productivity standpoint, vibe coding can be incredibly appealing: However, the very aspects that make vibe coding productive also contribute to its significant cybersecurity risks, particularly the introduction of vulnerable code. But why the Increased risk of bad code? Here’s why: Over-reliance on Untrusted or Unvetted External Code: What is Vibe Coding?

“Vibe Coding” is the trend where developers dive straight into writing code based on instinct, snippets, or the flow of the moment—often skipping documentation, architectural alignment, or structured planning. Think of it as “coding by gut feel” rather than “coding by design.” Vibe coding succeeds when it’s used as a tool for exploration, not as a replacement for architecture. The sweet spot lies in balancing the vibe with structure—experiment fast, then refactor with discipline. In short: Vibe coding is the spark, but architecture is the engine. Together, they can drive innovation without driving teams into technical debt.

Meet Team Vikrant, a five-member startup racing to launch a SaaS platform. Investors wanted a demo in 3 weeks. No time for endless architecture diagrams, no time for 200-page design docs. 🚨 Developers, Tech Leaders, and Curious Coders — let’s talk vibe coding. You’ve seen it. You’ve probably done it.

Heck, I’ve used it too and will continue to use it. But let’s get real about the risks and rewards, especially now that AI is practically a co-pilot in every IDE. Imagine you’re building a bridge—not with blueprints, but by “feeling it out” and slapping beams together that seem like they should hold. That’s vibe coding. It’s fast, it’s loose, and sometimes... it works.

But if you’re not careful, that bridge will collapse the moment a user (or worse, an attacker) steps on it. 🎯 For new devs: vibe coding is a wild ride of trial and error—and that’s not a bad thing. If you’re genuinely curious, if you stop and say “wait, why did this work?” or “what’s this function actually doing under the hood?”… then vibe coding can accelerate your journey to becoming a real... It’s like learning to cook by experimenting in the kitchen. You’ll burn some meals, but you’ll come out of it with real skills—if you care enough to analyze what went right (and wrong). But if you’re just slapping code together and pushing it live without a second thought?

That’s where the danger creeps in: One Reddit dev called it: “Throw mud and hope it sticks.” Except the mud is now your production environment. Yikes.

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