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Since ChatGPT hit the market in a big way just a couple of years ago, people have been saying that AI is the beginning of the end of being able to make a career out of programming. Since then, there have been custom artificial intelligence systems that were designed and trained specifically for programming.
Major corporations have really embraced the idea of using AI developers, with Google saying about 25% of their new code is from AI, and Microsoft boasting 30%.
So, what does this mean for the millions of people who have been programming for years? Are they out of work and having to look for new careers?
Not exactly.
Whatever the future of AI programming may be, it is not really that good today. Sure, it can make working programs very quickly, which is great for a regular person who wants to make an app or something, but AI is not nearly at the level of true developers.
The term ‘vibe coding’ has become a common idea that basically says entry-level developers (or even people with no development experience) are ‘vibe coding’ rather than actually programming. This basically means that they write their program just using vibes. Telling an AI the basic ideas of what they want, and letting the system take it from there.
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Perhaps to nobody’s surprise, AI doesn’t do a great job. Even when the programs work, they are very inefficient and not polished at all.
So, what do companies do?
They turn to the senior programmers of the world and beg for help.
One experienced coder realized that there was a huge need for a service where someone with real skills could ‘clean up’ the vibe-coded mess that so many companies are dealing with. So, he told 404 Media that he started offering a service on Fiverr where he would clean up the code for a hefty fee. He explains:
“I started fixing vibe-coded projects because I noticed a growing number of developers and small teams struggling to refine AI-generated code that was functional but lacked the polish or ‘vibe’ needed to align with their vision.”
And this isn’t just a gimmick either. He is making a lot of money providing this service.
“I’ve been offering vibe coding fixer services for about two years now, starting in late 2023. Currently, I work with around 15-20 clients regularly, with additional one-off projects throughout the year.”
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He is far from the only person doing this type of work. Other platforms like Upwork and freelancer communities are flooded with this type of request. Cleaning up bad code has always been a service that was needed, but since the start of AI-powered programming, the need is greater than ever.
It is important to note that AI systems are learning more and more and getting better and better at writing code. So, this industry won’t likely last forever. Whether it has 10 days or 10 years, however, is anyone’s guess.