Peter Steinberger, the creator of the AI-assisted coding tool OpenClaw, has publicly criticized the term “vibe coding,” labeling it a slur that misrepresents the skill required for programming with AI assistance. Steinberger expressed his views during an appearance on OpenAI’s podcast, “Builders Unscripted,” where he compared coding with AI to learning to play a musical instrument, emphasizing the expertise involved.
Steinberger, who developed OpenClaw using OpenAI’s Codex, explained that the phrase “vibe coding” suggests that writing code with AI is an effortless process, which he finds misleading. “There are these people that write software the old way, and the old way is going to go away,” he said. “They call it ‘vibe coding.’ I think vibe coding is a slur.”
He further elaborated that the term fails to acknowledge the skill involved in prompting AI to generate effective code. “They don’t understand that it’s a skill,” Steinberger noted. This sentiment has been echoed by other AI and tech industry leaders, including former Google Brain scientist Andrew Ng, who described the phrase as “unfortunate” and “misleading.” Andrej Karpathy, former Tesla AI head and the originator of the term, has since shifted focus toward “agentic engineering” as the evolving future of AI-assisted development.
Despite Steinberger’s criticism, the usage of “vibe coding” surged in popularity throughout 2025, culminating with Collins Dictionary naming it the word of the year. Steinberger conveyed his deep familiarity with AI-generated code, stating, “Most code is boring. I have a pretty good understanding of what it writes,” and revealed that his experience managing software engineering teams contributed to his acceptance of AI-produced code variations.
Prior to OpenClaw, Steinberger founded PSPDFKit and has since interacted with multiple prominent AI laboratories. His work has attracted attention from key figures in the technology field; for instance, Anthropic requested that he rename his chatbot, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally shared feedback after testing the tool. Zuckerberg also reportedly approached Steinberger for a potential job opportunity, but Steinberger accepted an offer from OpenAI earlier in February 2026. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman praised Steinberger as “a genius with a lot of amazing ideas about the future of very smart agents.”
Steinberger’s stance highlights ongoing debates about the terminology used to describe AI’s role in software development and reflects the broader industry discussions on how best to characterize emerging coding practices facilitated by artificial intelligence.
