--- title: "Vibe Coding and the Return of Personal Software" podcast: "Modem Futura" episode: "Episode 70" hosts: "Sean Leahy and Andrew Maynard" date: 2026-02-10 audio: https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/018f87c3-4d42-4bc0-9d66-53873b51ec68/episodes/acb968cd-78ca-44e9-8b99-720278f5b752/audio/c99e3b4f-9ea7-45fd-99f8-ebbdb93daeb5/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=3frRI0HN mirror: https://text.futureofbeinghuman.com/modemfutura/70-vibe-coding-and-the-return-of-personal-software.html --- # Vibe Coding and the Return of Personal Software Modem Futura · Episode 70 · February 10, 2026 · 64 min · Hosts: Sean Leahy and Andrew Maynard Listen: [MP3 audio](https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/018f87c3-4d42-4bc0-9d66-53873b51ec68/episodes/acb968cd-78ca-44e9-8b99-720278f5b752/audio/c99e3b4f-9ea7-45fd-99f8-ebbdb93daeb5/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=3frRI0HN) · [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/vibe-coding-and-the-return-of-personal-software/id1771688480?i=1000749041906&uo=4) · [Spotify (show)](https://open.spotify.com/show/3eFl4hY4t1qTCWE2Bxotrg) · [YouTube (video)](https://www.youtube.com/@ModemFutura) --- Something unexpected is happening in the world of software: it's becoming personal again. In this episode of Modem Futura, Sean and Andrew explore the rapidly expanding phenomenon of vibe coding—the practice of describing what you want in plain language and letting a generative AI build it for you. What starts as a practical conversation about creating web apps and custom tools quickly opens into something much richer: a reflection on what it means when anyone, regardless of technical background, can conjure software into existence with a sentence or two. The hosts trace a surprising thread from the Commodore 64 and early BASIC programming of the late 1970s and 80s to today's AI-powered coding environments, finding echoes of that original thrill—the moment you realized you could make a machine do something it hadn't done before. Sean walks through real experiments he ran using Claude, including a horizon-scanning web app and a futures-oriented uncertainty matrix tool, both created from single natural-language prompts in seconds. But the conversation doesn't shy away from the tensions. What happens when code is generated faster than anyone can understand it? What are the security implications of prompt injection, inherited power, and AI agents running on your personal machine? And where is the line between liberating personal tool-making and professional-grade software that people's lives depend on? This episode is part celebration, part caution, and entirely an invitation to think about what software becomes when it's shaped not by engineers alone, but by anyone with a question and a good description of what they need. Get the book: [AI and the Art of Being Human (Pocket edition) [Amazon US]](https://www.amazon.com/AI-Art-Being-Human-Pocket/dp/B0GJQMFDZJ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2GAQ9O1ANMO19&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.F80P41qk0EcYtX1Bwfq38wgWzEZUKz9OhjlUJriBqGMlTXZ-3dj_b_js8njYL7RqW3cZ7mpKb1ChGZf_s-WaTlGr2VkfiFomIQ1SnSF9Fcs9XRQMIGbveqGW495XoxOHw8x5hT5_EH0pPWGoPUxiBhSiD4w1GygiNMbYIFbQ9UtCdDLuJNDlrOUJDkYW90Uo4FavmuaYp04_4rokraDnFNxVN-0z0pFQS6zw8w22wIo.SuLrVft7E43eDFDEI6QCu0fG7P-DOK2iNI6dXfVaR0A&dib_tag=se&keywords=Ai+and+the+art+of+being+human+pocket&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1770753732&s=books&sprefix=ai+and+the+art+of+being+human+pocket+%2Cstripbooks%2C169&sr=1-1) -----Modem Futura is a production of the Future of Being Human initiative at Arizona State University. Be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. To learn more about the Future of Being Human initiative and all of our other projects visit - [https://futureofbeinghuman.asu.edu](https://futureofbeinghuman.asu.edu/)Subscribe to our [YouTube Channel: @ModemFutura](https://www.youtube.com/@ModemFutura)Follow us on Instagram: [@ModemFutura](https://www.instagram.com/modemfutura/)**Host Bios:****Sean M. Leahy, PhD** - [ASU Bio](https://search.asu.edu/profile/3183014)\ Sean is an internationally recognized technologist, futurist, and educator innovating humanistic approaches to emerging technology through a Futures Studies approach. He is the Executive Director for the [Future of Being Human Initiative](https://futureofbeinghuman.asu.edu/) and Research Scientist for the [School for the Future of Innovation in Society](https://sfis.asu.edu/) and Senior Global Futures Scholar with the [Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory](https://globalfutures.asu.edu/) at [Arizona State University](http://www.asu.edu/).**Andrew Maynard, PhD** - [ASU Bio](https://search.asu.edu/profile/2670673)\ Andrew is a scientist, author, thought leader, and Professor of Advanced Technology Transitions in the ASU [School for the Future of Innovation in Society](https://sfis.asu.edu/). He is the founder of the ASU [Future of Being Human initiative](https://futureofbeinghuman.asu.edu/), Director of the ASU [Risk Innovation Nexus](https://riskinnovation.org/), and was previously Associate Dean in the ASU [College of Global Futures](https://collegeofglobalfutures.asu.edu/).----- --- *These are the show notes for this episode of Modem Futura (), a podcast hosted by Sean Leahy and Andrew Maynard and part of the ASU Future of Being Human initiative (). This file is a text mirror of the episode’s show notes — not a transcript. Listen to the full episode via the links above, or watch it on YouTube ().*