I was working with a new team last week and saw something that made me pause
They were using vibe coding to build a customer dashboard and things were moving fast maybe too fast
The AI was generating code at lightning speed but nobody was really understanding what was happening under the hood
Thats when I realized we might be creating what I call slop code
Slop creation happens when we let AI generate code without proper oversight when we prioritize speed over quality when we forget that code is capability not just something that makes the computer do what we want
Remember the principle Code is Capability Intentions and Interfaces are Long-term Assets
This means we should focus on creating clear intentions and stable interfaces while treating the actual code as something that can be regenerated and replaced
But what Im seeing in the wild is different
People are treating AI-generated code like traditional code manually editing it tweaking it patching it
Theyre breaking the fundamental rule Do Not Manually Edit Code
Why does this matter
Because when you manually edit AI-generated code you create technical debt that nobody understands
The AI cant effectively regenerate or maintain code thats been manually modified
You lose the benefits of vibe coding while keeping all the risks
Heres what slop creation looks like in practice
Teams deploy AI-generated systems without proper testing because hey it works right
They make quick manual fixes when something breaks creating patches on top of patches
Nobody fully understands the system architecture because it was generated not designed
Security vulnerabilities slip through because the code looks right but behaves unexpectedly
The solution isnt to abandon vibe coding but to do it properly
We need to treat our intentions and prompts as the real assets not the generated code
We need to establish verification and observation as core practices not afterthoughts
Remember Verification and Observation are the Core of System Success
This means building testing into our workflow from the start
Creating clear specifications that the AI can reliably follow
Establishing governance around what gets deployed and how
And most importantly resisting the temptation to manually fix things when they break
Instead we should go back to our intentions refine our prompts and let the AI regenerate better code
The future of software development isnt about writing perfect code
Its about creating perfect intentions and letting AI handle the implementation
But this requires discipline and good practices
Otherwise we risk creating systems that are faster to build but harder to maintain
Systems that work today but become unmanageable tomorrow
The choice is ours make quality vibes or create slop