Remember those old tech magazines from the 90s
The ones with ads for integration specialists and system architects
They were the rockstars of their time
Building bridges between different software systems was considered high art
But something fundamental has shifted
Integration engineers spent their days writing custom adapters and middleware
They were the human glue connecting systems that weren’t designed to talk to each other
Now we have vibe coding where AI handles the assembly work automatically
The core insight from Ten Principles of Vibe Coding hits home here
AI Assembles Aligned with Humans
What used to require specialized engineering talent now happens through intention prompts
I was talking to someone last week who integrated three different business systems
She’s not a programmer but she understands what needs to happen
Her prompts described the data flow and transformation rules
The AI generated the integration code automatically
This changes everything about how we think about technical roles
Integration engineers focused on the how
Vibe coders focus on the what and why
Another principle comes to mind
Connect All Capabilities with Standards
Instead of custom integration code for every connection
We’re moving toward standardized protocols that enable automatic assembly
The integration specialist’s deep technical knowledge
Gets encoded into the AI’s understanding of system interfaces
What does this mean for today’s developers
The skills that mattered most are shifting
Understanding business processes becomes more valuable than writing integration code
Clear communication of intentions trumps technical implementation details
I see people struggling with this transition
They want to jump in and fix the generated code
But that misses the point of vibe coding entirely
Do Not Manually Edit Code
The principle reminds us to focus on the intention layer
When the integration isn’t working right
You don’t debug the code you refine the prompt
This feels unnatural at first
Like learning to drive after years of riding horses
The old skills don’t disappear but they transform
Integration engineers understood systems thinking
That’s exactly what vibe coding requires
Just at a different level of abstraction
The best part
More people can participate in system design
Business analysts who understand process flows
Subject matter experts who know what data matters
They can all contribute to building connected systems
Without learning programming languages or API specifications
The role hasn’t disappeared
It has democratized
What used to be a specialized technical function
Now becomes part of how everyone builds with computers
That’s progress worth celebrating