The Core Value of Programmers in the AI Era Is Shifting to Problem Definition

This is pretty interesting.
Lately, I keep hearing people hype up “Vibe Coding,” claiming that AI can churn out code in seconds and programmers will soon be obsolete.
Honestly, my first reaction was: That’s nonsense.

1. Sure, the code exists—but then what?
These days, you can plug “build an e-commerce site” into any AI tool, and it’ll spit out code like crazy.
But here’s the thing—what are you selling? Why would users choose you? How do you handle returns?
AI can code a login button, but it won’t dream up ideas like “adding a ‘undo purchase’ feature to the shopping cart.”

2. The real bottleneck was never writing code
Our company has been using AI to generate code for three years, and the biggest lesson is this:
Technical implementation is becoming more like tightening screws, but figuring out which screws to tighten is getting harder.
Last week, a client asked for “a product like TikTok.” After hours of discussion, we realized what they actually wanted was—
a tool that automatically edits fishing videos.

3. “Vibe Solutioning” might be the antidote
There’s a new term called “Vibe Solutioning,” and I think it hits the nail on the head.
The next frontier for AI shouldn’t be how to write code but rather:

• Translating “I want to make money” into a concrete business model
• Turning customer complaints into a feature roadmap
• Picking the least terrible idea out of five bad ones

4. The new human job: Being AI’s product manager
The most valuable skills in the future might be:

• Articulating vague needs with precision (e.g., “Build an app that Gen Z can’t put down”)
• Judging which of AI’s three proposals is the least shaky
• Translating tech jargon into human language (don’t laugh—AI is terrible at this right now)

5. Founders, be especially wary
I’ve seen too many teams with sleek AI-generated code building products nobody wants.
Starting a company is cheaper than ever, but the cost of failure is higher—
because everyone’s mass-producing garbage apps at lightning speed.

Let’s be real:
AI lowering the technical barrier is great, but don’t kid yourself that “having the tech means success.”
Remember when “PPT startups” were a joke? AI startups might be the next punchline.
(And yes, our company is part of the joke too. Insert doge meme here.)