Vibe Coding as Interface Flattening
Published:Dec 31, 2025 16:00
•2 min read
•ArXiv
Analysis
This paper offers a critical analysis of 'vibe coding,' the use of LLMs in software development. It frames this as a process of interface flattening, where different interaction modalities converge into a single conversational interface. The paper's significance lies in its materialist perspective, examining how this shift redistributes power, obscures responsibility, and creates new dependencies on model and protocol providers. It highlights the tension between the perceived ease of use and the increasing complexity of the underlying infrastructure, offering a critical lens on the political economy of AI-mediated human-computer interaction.
Key Takeaways
- •Vibe coding, facilitated by LLMs, is presented as a form of interface flattening.
- •This flattening creates a single conversational interface, obscuring the underlying complexity.
- •The paper analyzes how this shift redistributes power and creates new dependencies on model and protocol providers.
- •It highlights the tension between ease of use and the increasing complexity of the infrastructure.
- •The analysis offers a critical perspective on the political economy of AI-mediated human-computer interaction.
Reference
“The paper argues that vibe coding is best understood as interface flattening, a reconfiguration in which previously distinct modalities (GUI, CLI, and API) appear to converge into a single conversational surface, even as the underlying chain of translation from intention to machinic effect lengthens and thickens.”