Vibe Coding - When Ambitious AI Promises Meet Development Reality

Dear Codeium Team,

I began writing this letter as a simple request to check into a charge that I believe may have been made in error.

But while I'm here, I thought I would share some thoughts about your product, which I genuinely believe has transformative potential.

I'm copying this letter to a public format to articulate views that I think are shared by many of your users who, while excited about your vision, sometimes feel a disconnect between the ambitious roadmap and the day-to-day experience.

Many of us are profoundly excited by your product and regard its potential as truly transformative. We're eager to see it reach its full potential, which is why some of the current challenges feel particularly noticeable.

FYI: I'm A Supporter

Firstly, and to explain why I am going to the trouble of doing this, let me provide my perspective on why I think that your product is more than just (another) entrant in the increasingly crowded world of AI SaaS.

I became interested in AI after discovering that the (now) humble ChatGPT could generate compliant-enough YAML to set up basic home automations.

Since then, it has been a whirlwind of exploration.

As both models and tooling become progressively more capable, the boundaries of what is possible continue to expand, and at a dizzying pace. This feels to me as if, for the first time in my encounter with technology to date, that we're seeing the first promising glimpses of what it can look like when technology works to make our lives easier and not more complicated.

I will admit to having spent more than one "all nighter" after the release of 3.7 simply marveling at what the IDE was capable of. While the results were sometimes inconsistent, the successes were genuinely impressive and kept the process worthwhile.

If the technology of yesterday was paying a handful of big tech companies to develop standardised tools, the vision of tomorrow which your tool suggests is a much more democratic and interesting one in which everybody can develop the tools precisely fitted to their unique needs.

Aligning Vision With Implementation

But it's also for precisely this reason that I think that AI code generation, and the beginnings of this promising new era specifically, requires that vendors and users and enthusiasts work together and treat one another with respect. There is often less distance between us than it seems.

For this to happen, I believe that AI code generation needs to nurture a responsible articulation of its abilities which accords with an honest estimation of its current capabilities and areas still under development.

I believe that AI code generation can be about much more than just developing MVPs or sometimes finished products. It can provide a novel and powerful interface for delivering examples-based education in programming.

But I think there's value in being transparent about the current state of the technology. Being forthright about both capabilities and limitations helps set appropriate expectations among users and strengthens the community's trust in the long-term vision.

I believe that the most successful AI tools will be those that balance ambitious visions with pragmatic implementation, bringing users along on the journey with transparency about both achievements and challenges.

Balancing Innovation and Stability

Your team is clearly passionate about pushing boundaries, which is commendable and exciting. The rapid pace of feature releases demonstrates your commitment to innovation.

As users who are invested in your success, we sometimes notice areas where the fundamentals could use additional attention. For instance, I've encountered occasional challenges with Python virtual environments and code generation placement.

The UI of your product is excellent, and the insights you've shared into how it came to be are extremely interesting.

While your team continues to innovate at an impressive pace, some users have noted that addressing certain core functionality issues might enhance the overall experience.

As I take a long-term view of the importance of AI-assisted development, I'm curious about how feature stability, reliability, and quality control fit into your roadmap alongside the exciting new capabilities.

A Call for Continued Dialogue

I believe it's widely understood that it will take some time before the necessary technology is in place for AI code generation to achieve its full potential.

You have developed a support base of users, including myself, who feel genuinely enthusiastic about what can be achieved with the technology you're developing. We're excited to be early adopters and to provide feedback that can help shape the future of the platform.

I believe that with ongoing dialogue between your team and your user community, you can continue to build on the strong foundation you've established and deliver on the tremendous promise of AI-assisted development.

With best wishes and continued support,

Daniel

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