It’s been an interesting time since my last post. If you haven’t read my earlier blogs, here’s the TL;DR: about 3 months ago I decided to finally bite the bullet and give AI coding / Vibe coding / Agentic engineering or whatever the new buzzword is a try. This is a reflection on my experiences throughout this journey to hell and back.
Coincidentally, a few weeks back one of my favorite movies, Top Gun Maverick, was rereleased in IMAX and afterwards, I found myself thinking about the parallels between the movie and my journey.
I gave it a try
It would be accurate to say I completely threw myself into this idea of Agentic Engineering. I tried out a variety of harnesses, UIs, models etc. I initially started with Claude Code + Kimi K2.5. I also set up an app on my phone which allowed me to continue the coding sessions while going for a walk. Then I pivoted to OpenCode. The main benefit with that was the support for a multitude of providers. At home, I could switch between GLM 5 and Kimi K2.5 and at work I could plug in my Copilot subscription to work with GPT 5.3 Codex and Claude Opus 4.6. Lastly, I tried out a niche tool called Command Code.
I really went crazy with this and tried to vibe code an Electron-based alternative to Claude Desktop. This phase I sort of see to be equivalent to the part of Maverick where he is testing out the prototype jet. It’s important to keep giving the latest technologies a try without losing grip on the fundamentals.
It’s Where I Belong
There’s a point in the movie where Ed Harris' character says:
“Maverick, 30 years of service, combat medals, citations, distinguished service, yet you can’t get a promotion, you won’t retire and despite your best efforts you refuse to die. You should at least be an Admiral by now yet here you are, Captain. Why is that?”
Maverick replies
“It’s where I belong”.
He is referring to the fact that he’s still inside the cockpit, flying the planes, pushing the limits. I, too, have been thinking about this idea of climbing the ladder. I have always thought that I would remain a programmer even at the end of my career, but the reality is that the corporate ladder for an individual contributor simply does not exist beyond a certain point. I have maybe one, or at most two, promotions left in my career, so I realized that maybe this is the time I should focus on refining my craft rather than getting a promotion.
Not Today
Fast-forward to today, I realized that AI coding really produces subpar work while simultaneously sucking the joy out of coding. The counterargument would be the classic AI is not going to take my job, someone using AI is. That may well be the case in a few years, but the fact is we’re simply not there yet and based on how LLMs work we may never be there.
It’s very reminiscent of the scene where Ed Harris' character says:
“These planes you’ve been testing, one day sooner or later they won’t need pilots at all, pilots that need to sleep, eat, pilots that disobey orders. The future is coming and you’re not in it. The End is inevitable, Maverick, your kind is headed for extinction”
And Maverick simply retorts:
“Maybe so sir, But not today” 🔥🔥
I’m not ready to hand over the controls just yet.