Linus Torvalds is 'Vibe Coding'.

Source: Dev.to

“I cut out the middle‑man — me — and just used Google Antigravity to do the audio sample visualizer.”

(Context: Torvalds using AI to bypass his own lack of Python fluency to build a perfect visualization tool.)

If the guy who built the kernel that runs the world is “vibe coding,” you don’t have an excuse anymore.

Context

Many developers fear AI will replace them. They are half‑right: AI will replace the mediocre ones. Torvalds didn’t use AI to think for him. He used it because he understood the concepts (analog filters, signal processing) but didn’t want to waste time on the syntax (modern Python boilerplate).

AI Era Formula

$$ \text{If your domain expertise is }0,\ \text{AI} \times 0 = 0 ;\Rightarrow; \text{garbage code (“slop”).} $$

Conversely, if your expertise is at 100 (like Torvalds), the AI acts as a massive lever, removing the friction of syntax and allowing you to move mountains.

Changing Role of Syntax

We are witnessing the death of “syntax as a skill.” Knowing how to reverse a binary tree on a whiteboard is now irrelevant. Knowing when and why to use a particular construct is everything.

A major study by Harvard and BCG (Navigating the Jagged Technological Frontier) modeled exactly what is happening to us. When applied to software engineering in 2026, three distinct behaviors emerge.

Developer Archetypes

The Sleeper (or Zombie)

• Blindly trusts the LLM, committing code they don’t fully understand.
• Introduces security vulnerabilities or technical debt at scale—essentially falling asleep at the wheel.

The Centaur

• A strategic developer who switches modes.
• Uses “AI mode” for boilerplate, tests, and documentation, then reverts to “Human mode” for complex logic and architecture.

The Cyborg

• Torvalds’ profile.
• Integrates deeply with the tool, “vibe coding” through iterations.
• Navigates hallucinations and pushes the model to the edge of its jagged frontier to produce solutions a human alone wouldn’t find.

Tool Landscape

• Google Antigravity – the tool of choice for those who want to stay close to the metal.
• Claude Code Cowork – entirely coded by Claude itself.
• Cursor – the default IDE for the Centaurs.
• Recent example: a team built a fully functional browser engine (over 3 million lines of code) in a single week using agents based on GPT‑5.2.

From Writing Code to Guiding Code

The paradigm is shifting from manually writing every line to guiding an AI‑driven generation process. The human ego is fragile; we behave like bonobos given nuclear fire—we use it to light up cave paintings instead of powering a civilization.

The Future of the Artisan Developer

The “Artisan Developer,” who takes pride in typing every semicolon by hand, is becoming a historical reenactor. There is dignity in it, but there is no leverage.

Conclusion

The question for 2026 isn’t “Will AI take my job?” but rather:

“Am I building a Ferrari with this tool, or am I just driving 200 mph into a wall?”

Torvalds chose the Ferrari. What about you?