Why No AI Assistance?
According to Karpathy, AI coding tools like Claude and Codex "didn't work well enough and were not very useful" when programming "nanochat" — a tool designed for simplified chatbot creation.
The Vibe Coding Irony
The irony? Karpathy previously described vibe coding as suitable for "disposable weekend projects." Yet he chose traditional coding methods for this substantial project.
What This Means
This development raises questions about AI coding tools' current limitations, even for experts who understand them best. If a leading AI researcher finds these assistants insufficient for serious projects, it highlights the gap between AI coding hype and practical utility.
The nanochat project is now available as open-source, demonstrating that sometimes human-written code still outperforms AI-assisted development.
Source: Gizmodo
