Building an AI-Powered Chemistry Tutor: When 98% AI-Generated Code Actually Feels Like 250%
By
brilee
Fresh out the oven, still warm. Top of the tray.
Summary
The author shares their experience building an AI-powered chemistry tutor over 6 months, revealing that while AI (Claude) wrote 98% of the code by lines, the actual development process involved extensive human intervention, making it feel like 250% AI-generated. The article explores the limitations of simple "vibecoding" and describes how the author co-evolved with AI coding assistants, detailing the complex interplay between human direction and AI execution in software development.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledThe codebase is roughly 98% AI-generated, but 98% is a highly misleading number.
There has been so much human intervention that it would be more accurate to say that my codebase is 250% AI-generated.
Here are some of the ways in which simple vibecoding has failed me, and how I've coevolved with AI coding assistants over the last six months.
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