Why Human Guidance Matters in Collaborative Vibe Coding
Under review
We introduce a controlled experimental framework for collaborative vibe coding and compare human-led, AI-led, and hybrid groups across 20 experiments with 737 participants. The results show that people contribute uniquely effective high-level guidance, while AI-provided instructions can drive performance collapse. Hybrid systems perform best when humans lead instruction and AI supports evaluation, highlighting the continued importance of human guidance in future hybrid societies.