Civility & Other Dangerous Games
The FAIK Files
The Rise of Vibe Coding: Balancing Innovation and Understanding
This chapter explores vibe coding, where users employ AI to generate code with minimal technical knowledge. It discusses the origins of AI development, the appeal of accessible coding, and the associated pros and cons of this trend.
Welcome back to The FAIK Files!
In this week's episode:
- Why being polite to ChatGPT might be wasting Sam Altman's money
- Alarming advancements in deepfake technology and why even "super recognizers" can't keep up.
- We explain what a "vibe coder" is and why you probably don't want to become one.
- An Italian newspaper's claim to have published the world's first AI-generated edition.
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***** NOTES AND REFERENCES *****
Being Polite to ChatGPT Is Wasting Sam Altman's Money:
- Sam Altman tweet about "Please" and "Thanks": https://x.com/sama/status/1912646035979239430
- Futurism article on the topic: https://futurism.com/altman-please-thanks-chatgpt
- TechRadar survey on politeness to AI chatbots: https://www.techradar.com/computing/artificial-intelligence/are-you-polite-to-chatgpt-heres-where-you-rank-among-ai-chatbot-users
- Research paper on making AI less 'thirsty': https://arxiv.org/pdf/2304.03271
- Washington Post article on water usage claims: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/09/18/energy-ai-use-electricity-water-data-centers/
- Axios article on AI energy consumption: https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-generate-506cb450-1ec4-11f0-9e47-c56f3bfd63d8
- New IEA report on Energy and AI: https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/86ed1178-4d77-45ac-ab38-28e849f3b93f/EnergyandAI.pdf
Deepfakes Are Getting Too Good (and Too Easy):
- Article on super recognizers and deepfakes: https://www.biometricupdate.com/202504/super-recognizers-cant-help-with-deepfakes-but-deepfakes-can-help-with-algorithms
- VentureBeat article on a new (surprisingly good) open-source text-to-speech model: https://venturebeat.com/ai/a-new-open-source-text-to-speech-model-called-dia-has-arrived-to-challenge-elevenlabs-openai-and-more/
What Is a 'Vibe Coder' and Why Don't You Wanna Be One:
- Vibe Coding job board: https://www.vibecodecareers.com
Italian Newspaper Says It Has Published World's First AI-Generated Edition:
- The Guardian article: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/mar/18/italian-newspaper-says-it-has-published-worlds-first-ai-generated-edition
- Reuters article: https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/italian-newspaper-gives-free-rein-ai-admires-its-irony-2025-04-18/
*** THE BOILERPLATE ***
Check out Perry & Mason's other show, the Digital Folklore Podcast:
- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-folklore/id1657374458
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2v1BelkrbSRSkHEP4cYffj?si=u4XTTY4pR4qEqh5zMNSVQA
- Other: https://digitalfolklore.fm
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Connect with Mason:
- Mason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mason-amadeus-a853a7242/
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