Cursor: the new AI-powered IDE that might boost your code (or make you lazy)

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been testing out Cursor, the new IDE everyone’s talking about. It’s basically a fork of VS Code, but with built-in AI that lets you interact with your code directly. You can select a piece of code, ask for improvements, generate tests, refactor functions, or even request entire snippets just by chatting with it. And honestly… it works. But there’s a catch. First impressions are strong At first, the experience is impressive. Just hit Cmd + K (or Ctrl + K on Windows), and the AI jumps in to help. It’s fast and surprisingly effective, especially when you're dealing with repetitive tasks or hitting a mental block. But are we still thinking? After using Cursor as my main editor for a few days, I noticed something odd: I was thinking less. Yes, the AI helped a lot, but it also made me more passive. Instead of solving problems myself, I started asking the AI right away. Instead of taking the time to refactor carefully, I let it decide for me. That’s when it hit me, this tool can be amazing, but also dangerous if you’re not aware of how you’re using it. It’s here to help, if you stay in control Don’t get me wrong. Cursor isn’t a trap. I truly believe it came to add value to our workflow. It speeds things up, helps when you’re learning, and saves time on tasks that would usually take hours. But if you rely on it too much, it can become a crutch. A tool that should support your reasoning might start replacing it. That’s where the "dumbing down" starts, when you stop learning, questioning, and understanding the why, just because something else is doing it for you. Final thoughts Cursor is a promising tool. Fast, practical, with AI support that actually makes sense. If you use it mindfully, it can be a powerful partner But if you hand over all the thinking, what was supposed to boost your productivity might turn into dependency. Use it with intention. Question the suggestions. Learn with it, but don’t let it do the learning for you. At the end of the day, you’re the developer, not the AI!

Apr 21, 2025 - 00:33

Cursor: the new AI-powered IDE that might boost your code (or make you lazy)

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been testing out Cursor, the new IDE everyone’s talking about. It’s basically a fork of VS Code, but with built-in AI that lets you interact with your code directly.

You can select a piece of code, ask for improvements, generate tests, refactor functions, or even request entire snippets just by chatting with it.
And honestly… it works. But there’s a catch.

First impressions are strong

At first, the experience is impressive.
Just hit Cmd + K (or Ctrl + K on Windows), and the AI jumps in to help. It’s fast and surprisingly effective, especially when you're dealing with repetitive tasks or hitting a mental block.

But are we still thinking?

After using Cursor as my main editor for a few days, I noticed something odd: I was thinking less.

Yes, the AI helped a lot, but it also made me more passive. Instead of solving problems myself, I started asking the AI right away. Instead of taking the time to refactor carefully, I let it decide for me.

That’s when it hit me, this tool can be amazing, but also dangerous if you’re not aware of how you’re using it.

It’s here to help, if you stay in control

Don’t get me wrong. Cursor isn’t a trap. I truly believe it came to add value to our workflow. It speeds things up, helps when you’re learning, and saves time on tasks that would usually take hours.

But if you rely on it too much, it can become a crutch.
A tool that should support your reasoning might start replacing it.

That’s where the "dumbing down" starts, when you stop learning, questioning, and understanding the why, just because something else is doing it for you.

Final thoughts

Cursor is a promising tool. Fast, practical, with AI support that actually makes sense.
If you use it mindfully, it can be a powerful partner

But if you hand over all the thinking, what was supposed to boost your productivity might turn into dependency.

Use it with intention. Question the suggestions. Learn with it, but don’t let it do the learning for you.

At the end of the day, you’re the developer, not the AI!