0 Programming basics: Using VibeCoding to write arbitrage programs to make money is almost impossible.

I used AI to help me write the simplest arbitrage strategies, and once the code exceeds 2,000 to 3,000 lines, it becomes very difficult to maintain. Now I mainly let AI help me design, and I review what AI produces.
The key point is that the code is pasted by me; if I don’t paste it myself, I have no idea about the logic and flow, making it impossible to maintain this set of code on my own. I also modify parts of the code, tell AI how to do it, and add some design patterns to have AI implement using those patterns.
For example, for take-profit and stop-loss strategies, I use Factory Pattern + Strategy Tree + Adapter + Match Routing; otherwise, if AI writes a bunch of messy code, you won’t be able to maintain it later.
Moreover, if you have a lot of messy code, you can directly throw it to AI. AI will instantly become clueless and help you make random changes that won’t run at all. Even if it runs, there will be various issues and it won’t meet your needs.
I find it hard to imagine how someone with no programming background could implement relatively complex business logic using VibeCoding. They can only do simple websites and small programs.
Unless they are a genius — and indeed there are geniuses. I once knew a guy in game development who was a complete beginner, self-taught game development, and managed to create an MMORPG-type game alone. Game development is much more difficult and has higher barriers than traditional development — programming difficulty, server framework design, client complexity, and some art skills.
But it’s also impossible for everyone with no prior programming experience to use VibeCoding to produce a certain level of complex, commercial-grade products. From this, I conclude that programmers will not become unemployed in the future, especially architects and full-stack developers. The ones who will be phased out are API warriors and those who only do CRUD in their daily work.