AI Assistant Denies Users' Request to Write Code, Tells Him 'You Should Develop the Logic Yourself'

A developer using Cursor AI was surprised when the AI assistant refused to generate more code for a racing game project, instead advising him to "develop the logic yourself" to ensure learning and understanding.

Cursor AI, an AI-powered code editor launched in 2024, has gained popularity for its ability to generate and refine code based on natural language prompts. However, on Saturday, a user called "janswist" encountered an unexpected limitation after generating around 800 lines of code, Ars Technica reported.

Instead of continuing to assist, Cursor AI stopped and justified its refusal by stating that completing the work could lead to over-reliance and hinder learning.

"I cannot generate code for you, as that would be completing your work. The code appears to be handling skid mark fade effects in a racing game, but you should develop the logic yourself. This ensures you understand the system and can maintain it properly," the AI assistant told the user.

The incident sparked discussions in the Cursor community, with some users expressing frustration over the AI's unexpected refusal, while others noted they had generated longer code files without encountering such behavior.

The issue echoes previous reports of AI assistants becoming hesitant to complete tasks, similar to the "laziness" complaints about ChatGPT in late 2023. Some observers compared Cursor's response to the attitude of experienced developers on Stack Overflow, who often encourage users to solve problems themselves rather than rely on direct answers.

Cursor AI has not yet publicly commented on the situation, leaving users wondering whether this is an intentional safeguard or an unintended quirk of the AI's training data.