good morning. These days, you don't need coding knowledge to build software. Artificial intelligence will do that for you. Known as “vibecoding,” this is similar to other forms of generative AI, and can be either impressive or useless depending on how you look at it. But it has the potential to change the future of work. Today we're going to focus on that and this crazy performance in 2025.
first up
on the news
Labor: Workers at auto parts maker Titan Tool & Die are fighting a push to outsource, in the longest labor dispute in Windsor's history.
Capital market: CIX Trading Inc. plans to launch an alternative system to compete with the TSX in 2026 as competition among stock trading platforms intensifies.
Personal finance: A growing number of Canadian millionaires are looking to move abroad. Why don't so many people take off?
Saad Sahi is in the business of helping people clean up vibecoding, or software code written by AI.Amber Bracken/Globe and Mail
in focus
get the vibe
Hello. I'm Joe Castaldo, a Globe business reporter specializing in artificial intelligence.
I've been talking to companies all year about vibecoding, which means using AI to create software. We've often heard how professional programmers can now get more done with AI assistance, or how complete amateurs can now create software without writing a single line of code. Thanks to AI, anyone can now enter instructions into the Vibecoding app in simple language. If all goes well (and sometimes it doesn't), you'll have functional software coming out the other side.
However, to really understand something, you have to try it. So, even though I'm not a coder, I tried vibe coding. You can read about this in today's feature. I won't spoil it for you, but I was impressed and gained a better understanding of how AI will change software engineering. However, it wasn't as bad as you might expect.
There is no doubt that AI will change many jobs. The hard part is figuring out what's going on. Because AI coding tools are advancing rapidly and tech companies are early adopters, I've always thought of software engineers as canaries in the coal mine.
Over the summer, I spoke with Michael Serbinis, CEO of the Toronto Tech Companies League, to get his thoughts. He said there is a heated debate among technology leaders about whether it makes more sense to hire a bunch of junior employees and equip them with AI, or whether it makes more sense to forget about interns altogether and focus on experienced programmers to reap the full benefits of AI.
This is a pressing issue, especially given concerns about how AI will replace entry-level workers, especially in the technology industry. But when I spoke to Serbinis again this month, the debate seemed to have died down. he said every The company's software engineers are benefiting from AI, and League is still hiring interns.
AI can speed up software development, but it also has limitations. I spoke to experts and they told me that as a project becomes more complex, the Vibe coding tool starts to malfunction. AI has a hard time “remembering” details after a while, but experienced programmers have a better grasp of context. Coding is more than just mechanically writing scripts. Experts told me that the more important skill that engineers bring to the table is devising new ways to solve problems. Humans have the upper hand here.
Saad Sahi said he doesn't expect the Vibecoding app to be perfect anytime soon, which will likely mean more cleanup work for him and others.Amber Bracken/Globe and Mail
So what about amateurs like me? If you're building something simple, Vibe coding can go pretty far. For example, I created a crossword app. The visual design capabilities of these tools are also impressive. My wife, who works in design, was concerned about how quickly the Vibecoding platform I used could create professional interfaces and the thoughtful features it included to improve the user experience.
Still, many amateur vibe coders end up giving up and quitting because they have no idea what they're doing. That created some new jobs. It's a vibe coding cleanup specialist, a professional. I was hired to make a buggy AI-generated app actually work. Saad Sahi, who has modified several vibe-coded projects for others, said he doesn't expect these tools to be perfect anytime soon. That probably means more gigs like that for him and others in the future.
In my case, I was a bit addicted to it. I started vibecoding other things for fun. Math games for my son and daily cryptic crossword clue website because I'm an idiot. If you get stuck, at least you know who to call.
charting
canada vs world
Canada outperformed most expectations against the US dollar in 2025. By last week, the US dollar had fallen nearly 5% against the US dollar. But it didn't fare much better when compared to the world's most popular currencies, according to the Bank for International Settlements. Here's how this collection of popular currencies performed against crazy ones.
quotation
You are relying on the stated expertise of a ransomware negotiator who is negotiating with a party who is, in the legal sense, illegitimate, or frankly… not obligated to honor the terms of the agreement.
— Charles Finlay, Executive Director, Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, Metropolitan University of Toronto
Protecting businesses from cybersecurity attacks has spawned a multi-billion dollar industry run by people who aren't afraid to fight the good fight. Financial and cybercrime reporter Alexandra Posadzki takes a deep dive into the invisible necessity of ransomware negotiation.
to the next
Other files we follow
Tax savings: Here are five 2026 tax changes Canadians need to know about next year, including new RRSP contribution limits, tax brackets, and more.
Tax expenditure: Western countries are once again spending billions on nuclear power plants, and taxpayers are going along with them.
Among the stars: Is it too immersive? Why Constellation Software is a stock to watch in 2026.
prediction: John Heinzl's investment predictions for 2026 (he's so confident in his five predictions that you might want to print this column and stick it on your fridge for future reference).
morning update
Global markets were quiet today as Canada and Europe resumed trading after the holidays.
Wall Street futures were mixed after major US markets closed on Friday, while TSX futures were pointing lower.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX600 index rose 0.13% in morning trading. Britain's FTSE 100 index rose 0.11%, Germany's DAX index rose 0.08% and France's CAC 40 index rose 0.23%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed 0.44% lower and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 0.71% lower.
The Canadian dollar traded at US$73.02.
