twitter caught fire today with this thread:
one posted that anyone who uses ai to develop any code is not a real programmer. the other reversed it: anyone who DOESNT use ai is the one whos not a real programmer. tweet with 50 thousand views.
then someone else came with the scene:
and another tweet closed with what everyone was thinking:
this debate is badly framed on both sides. let me tell u what i think.
google translate wont make u fluent in german
if u use google translate to write a text in german, u managed to make the text work. but u dont know german. u didnt learn the grammar, u dont understand why it turned out that way, u cant fix it when it comes out wrong.
vibe coder who sends a prompt and accepts what comes out is in the same situation. made it work, but doesnt know the language. the real difference isnt using or not using ai.
about the vibe coders
i actually get mad at people who call themselves programmers just bc they know how to send a prompt. its not me being picky, its real disrespect to those who studied, debugged, understood why that nullpointerexception was happening, read documentation, failed, refactored, learned.
using a tool that abstracts everything and not understanding anything under the hood is not programming. its operating an interface.
this includes the guy who built websites on wordpress with ready-made templates + plugin for everything and called himself a "web developer". i still hate that one too. the pattern is exactly the same, grab an abstraction layer, understand nothing underneath, slap the title on.
but devs who use ai as a tool are still devs
now, a dev who uses ai as a tool, understands the code that comes out, reviews it, identifies whats wrong, knows how to fix? that one is still a dev. probably with more productivity than before. (◕‿◕)
the difference isnt "uses ai" vs "doesnt use ai". its understanding vs not understanding what comes out.
can u review the code the ai generated? could u write it manually if u needed to? do u identify when its wrong? if yes, ur a dev using a tool. if not, ur an interface operator.
ai is revolutionary, thats not up for debate
since the beginning ive been saying ai is not "just another tool like excel". its genuinely revolutionary. it changed the speed and reach of what a dev can do alone in a way that has no comparison with any previous tool.
todays conversation no longer fits the "ai denier" that existed a few years ago, the guy convinced this thing wouldnt go anywhere. that debate is closed. (¬_¬)
the debate isnt using or not using ai. the point is this, do u understand what ur doing? if yes, whatever the tool, ur a dev. if not, ur operating an interface that delivers code. and thats different.