TechBrunch: Vibe Coding with Sarah Friend

No programming, just vibes? Vibe coding promises to turn an idea into software simply by prompting an AI with what you want. You bring the idea, and the AI writes the code. At least, that’s the promise.

As part of the public programme for New Rituals [for the End of the World], this workshop explores new ways of creating with AI-assisted coding. Prompting, generating, testing, correcting, and trying again form a new kind of exchange between humans and computers. With a Gipfeli and a cup of coffee or tea in hand, we’ll see what happens when coding begins to feel more like a dialogue.

We’ll also look beyond the apparent ease of vibe coding to the larger shift taking place in how software is made and who gets to make it. If code can be generated through conversation, what happens to the role of the developer? In her recent essay Death of a Software Developer, Sarah examines how AI is changing technical work, access to software-making, and the kinds of knowledge that matter. We’ll approach this shift with openness and a critical eye, exploring what vibe coding makes possible and what it leaves hidden behind the interface.

Artist and software developer Sarah Friend will guide us through the process. Together, we’ll experiment with AI coding tools and develop small digital prototypes from our own ideas. No prior coding experience is needed.

Sarah Friend is an artist, researcher, and software developer from Canada, currently based in Berlin. Her work explores games, economics, identity, and emerging technologies. She has taught at universities and independent learning spaces including HEAD Genève, Rupert in Vilnius, La Plateforme in Marseille, the Academy of Fine Arts Nuremberg, Gray Area in San Francisco, and The Cooper Union in New York, where she was a visiting professor in 2022.