Tag Archives: Simon Willison

26Oct/26

Vibe Coding and the Slopsquatting Threat

October 26, 2026DevelopersArtificial intelligence, Computer languages, Computer programming, Cross-platform software, Hallucinates Phantom Package, High-level programming languages, JavaScript, Mandl Mandl, Matt Webb, Programming languages, researchgate, Simon Willison, Software development, Software engineering, Software quality, Software review, Source code, STACK OVERFLOW, Werner Vogelsadmin

Eulogy for the Syntax Coder: Architecting Code Quality, Supply Chain Security, and Human Taste in an Agentic World

Mon Oct. 26, 2026 /Mpelembe Media/ — The software engineering profession is undergoing a profound structural shift where manual code drafting, boilerplate execution, and routine syntax assembly are reaching technical obsolescence. Rather than destroying the discipline, generative AI and autonomous agentic workflows are elevating the role of the developer from a tactical syntax writer to a strategic director and systems curator. While informal “vibe coding”—building applications purely through conversational natural language prompts—accelerates initial prototyping, it relies on unverified outputs that frequently introduce subtle defects and structural brittleness. In contrast, professional “Agentic Engineering” treats multi-agent AI ensembles as execution engines that require continuous boundary definitions, formal specifications, and multi-layered verification pipelines to ensure production viability. Continue reading →

23Jul/26

Why Kimi and DeepSeek Terrify Superpowers

July 23, 2026TechnologyAirbnb, Alibaba, Beijing, Chatbots, China, Claude Sonnet, CROWDSTRIKE, DEEPSEEK, Generative pre-trained transformers, Geopolitics, In artificial intelligence, Kimi, Microsoft, Moonshot AI, national institute of standards and technology, Open-source artificial intelligence, Pricing, Prompt engineering, Simon Willison, Tibet, United States, US DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Washingtonadmin

The Geopolitics of Chinese Open-Weight AI

Thu, July 23 2026 /Mpelembe Media/ —The global artificial intelligence landscape is undergoing a major structural shift driven by the rapid technical maturation and aggressive pricing of open-weight models originating from China, specifically Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3 and DeepSeek’s V4 Pro. While these models offer massive cost efficiencies for Western enterprises, they introduce severe national security, cybersecurity, and intellectual property concerns, prompting a pivot in Washington toward weaponized regulatory uncertainty, federal procurement restrictions, and supply chain mapping.
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28Feb/26

Velocity vs. Comprehension: The Rise of Cognitive Debt in AI-Assisted Software Development

February 28, 2026DevelopersArtificial general intelligence, Artificial intelligence, Cognition, Cognitive load, Cognitive psychology, Computational neuroscience, Cybernetics, Margaret-Anne Storey, Mental model, Philosophy of artificial intelligence, Simon Willison, Thoughtworksadmin

The Fragile Expert: Why AI-Native Development is a Race Toward Cognitive Atrophy

28 Feb. 2026 /Mpelembe Media/ — We have discovered the “fast forward” button for digital production. Whether it is “vibe coding” a full-stack feature into existence or using an agentic swarm to refactor a legacy module, the experience is intoxicating. High-quality functional artifacts—code that executes, patterns that seem idiomatic—now appear with a keystroke.However, this skyrocketing velocity masks a burgeoning systemic risk. We are witnessing a decoupling of near-instantaneous algorithmic generation from the inherently slower human process of mental model construction. This is the “comprehension lag”: a state where our production speed outpaces our cognitive capacity to internalize the systems we build. By trading deep comprehension for “functional artifacts” we no longer cognitively own, we are accumulating an invisible and unsustainable liability. Continue reading →