Anyone else getting déjà vu over the vibe coding discourse?
We’ve been here before. A few times.
Here are the instances I remember best:
1994, Photoshop: Photoshop makes art so easy, everyone will want to be an artist.
Response:
“There’s no such thing as digital art. Who wants paint that doesn’t dry? Real art takes material and skill and craft. Not ‘filters,’ whatever those are. This is soulless trash. #PaintDriesForAReason”
1995, Visual Basic: Imagine this: a way to write programs that’s so easy, we won’t need programmers anymore. Visual Basic does it all.
Response:
“Coding should not be easy. This isn’t real code, it’s slop. #RealCodersType #NoClickyCode”
1996, FrontPage: You know how to use Word, right? Great. Now you can make web pages and simple business apps. Go take over the world!
Response:
“Web design is an artisanal craft dating back to the ancient times of Netscape 3, which came out six months ago. My stolen Javascript snippets matter! WYSIWYG must be stopped. #HandsOffMyHTML”
1997, FL Studio: Music production is so easy now, you don’t even need to be a musician anymore.
Response:
“THIS IS NOT MUSIC. Real artists don’t need loops. #NoLoops #RealMusicTakesPain”
1997, Auto-Tune: Singing in tune is so easy now, you don’t even need to be a real singer anymore.
Response:
“If you can’t sing it raw in one take while standing barefoot in a barn, it’s fraud. #OneTakeOrNothing #PitchCorrectionIsLying”
2005, iClone: 3D character animation is easy enough now that basically anyone can do it.
Response:
“This is the death of animation. Real animators suffer over every frame until their spine dissolves. #RealAnimatorsSuffer #BoneRigOrGoHome”
2013, Canva: Graphic design for everyone.
Response:
“Actually, no. Design is a sacred priesthood, and your flyer has violated the order. #DesignIsNotDemocracy #NoTemplateTrash”
And now:
2026, Vibe Coding: Software is getting easier to make.
Response:
“Actually this is the death of software engineering, craftsmanship, and the moral order. #NoPromptPunks #RealCodersSuffer”
What lowering the barrier changes
All of these discussions taught us something important.
First, claims of usability and universal appeal are always exaggerated. Any claim that says “everybody can do it well” has never quite panned out.
Were barriers lowered? Yes.
But I think the thing people forget is that not everybody wants to do that craft.
Most people do not spend their free time fantasizing about color theory, timing curves, compression ratios, database schemas, or kerning. That level of obsession is not universal. That’s why professionals still exist after every “this changes everything” moment.
Lowering the barrier changes who gets to try. It does not magically make everybody excellent, and it does not erase the people devoted to the craft.
That has been true every single time.