Brace yourselves for a barrage of AI-assisted garbage made by people who dont know an API from anIPA.Screen shot from the movie OfficeSpaceWeve officially entered the age of vibe codingwhat a ridiculous name. In this new digital frontier, anyone can prompt an AI with, Build me an app thats like LinkedIn meets Tindercomplete with swipeable resumes, networking streaks, and flirty endorsement badges, and then publish it without a second thought. Cringe-worthy, Iknow.These tools spit out something that looks like a real product, and suddenly everyones acting like its 2008 and the App Store just launched.The idea that no-code solutions can take the place of real development has been quietly gaining ground in the industry for a while now. A few years ago, the company I was working for put out a request for proposal (RFP) for a complex websitebuild.We found one agency we liked that quoted us around $100Kexpensive, sure, but it made sense given the serious research, custom design,.NET content management integration, and a six-month timeline.The then CEO wandered in and commented, No way were paying thatcant we just build this with Wix in like aweek?That was the moment I realized he hadnt listened to a single word wed discussed in our meetings over the past threemonths.Somewhere along the line, no-code tools like Wix and Canva have convinced people that digital products are simple. Drag, drop, add a stock photo, slap on a buttondone.Yes, these tools can pull off some neat tricks, but theyre no substitute for building a digital product from the ground up. Not if you need it to actually work, scale, or avoid crumbling at the slightest sneeze.What were really dealing with is a psychological phenomenon known as the illusion of explanatory depth (IOED)the tendency to believe we understand something in far more detail than we actuallydo.In this case, people assume they grasp how complex systems work simply because theyve built a polished front-end. But the illusion quickly unravels when theyre asked to explain or construct the underlying framework.Worse still, these design-for-dummies platforms have emboldened non-designers and non-developers to skip the professionals altogether. Clients and stakeholders are suddenly cobbling together their own pages or websitesoften with the elegance of a 2003 PowerPoint deck.And now, vibe coding takes things to a whole new level. Never heard of it? Lucky you. Its when people use AI tools to build entire digital products based solely on vibes. What does that even mean? It sounds like something youd do on a psychedelic retreat, not during product development.They type in something like: Make me a Gen Z-friendly team collab app with video meetups, synergy dashboards, hype analytics, and a dark mode aesthetic.Yeah I think I just threw up in my mouth typingthat.If you think you dont have enough time and resources to develop products properly now, just wait until vibe coding goes mainstreamwhen your boss starts asking, Why cant we just build this in aday?Now, vibe coding can make sense if youre an experienced designer or developeryoull immediately spot off-kilter usability or spaghetti code. But to a boss, a client, or even a random marketer, it all looks finished, as if theyve just saved the company$100K.As the saying goes, you can polish a turd, but its still a turdand youre looking at is a digital product equivalent. A stitched-together no-code hack, riddled with design flaws and crawling with enough bugs to ruin a summerpicnic.But the damage is done. Pandoras box has been opened, and theres no stuffing the AI genie backin.All we can hope for, pray for, is that the industry eventually rediscovers an appreciation for the handcrafted and human touchartisan websites and bespoke appsthe digital equivalent of small-batch leather goods or a gorgeous farmers market sourdough. Imperfect, human, and not cranked out by a robot or someone who Googled how to make a website yesterday.Until then, brace yourself for a deluge of vibe-coded monstrosities and AI-fueled eyesores. One day, we might look back on this era and say something we never thought wewould:Man, I miss the days when our only gripe wasCanva.Dont miss out! Join my email list and receive the latestcontent.Its all fun and games until your boss starts vibe coding was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.