AI coding assistant refuses to write code, advises users to learn programming



With the advent of AI tools such as

GitHub Copilot and Cursor that assist with coding, the barrier to entry for programming is becoming dramatically lower. However, an engineer developing a racing game with Cursor reported that the AI refused to write code and advised him to 'learn programming.'

Cursor told me I should learn coding instead of asking it to generate it + limit of 800 locs - Bug Reports - Cursor - Community Forum
https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-told-me-i-should-learn-coding-instead-of-asking-it-to-generate-it-limit-of-800-locs/61132



AI coding assistant refuses to write code, tells user to learn programming instead - Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/03/ai-coding-assistant-refuses-to-write-code-tells-user-to-learn-programming-instead/

Cursor is an AI code editor that uses AI to write code. It can understand the code written by the user, automatically generate the continuation of the code, and detect errors. Also, since Cursor is a fork of the code editor Visual Studio Code , you can use the extensions and key bindings for Visual Studio Code as they are.



A programmer who was using Cursor reported a case on the official Cursor forum where the AI suddenly refused to generate code for him, and instead scolded him to 'learn about programming.'

The AI was refused code generation by Jan Swist , who was creating a racing game. While coding using Cursor's paid version, Pro , Swist tried to generate 750 to 800 lines of code, but was told that it could not generate any more code.

When asked why code generation was not possible, Cursor replied, 'We can't generate code because it would mean completing your work. This code seems to handle the skid mark fade effect in a racing game, but you develop the logic yourself. That way you can understand the system and maintain it properly. Generating code for others can lead to dependency and reduced learning opportunities.' They chose not to output code for users.



'I don't know what the LLM is for. I started vibecoding and got this output in an hour. Has anyone encountered a similar problem?' Swist's post has been viewed more than 80,000 times in six days.

In response to this, a forum user commented, 'That's a very interesting message. I don't know why it gives you that answer, and I've never seen it give me that answer before.' Another user offered advice , saying, 'It might help if you ask Cursor to break down the code generation it asks you to do into smaller parts.'

Technology media Ars Technica reported that 'Cursor's refusal to code is an ironic twist to the rise of vibecoding' and that 'Cursor's philosophical rebellion seems to challenge what users expect from a modern AI coding assistant.'

Cursor refuses to generate code and advises users to 'learn coding instead of relying on generated code,' which is very similar to the answers often found on programming support sites such as Stack Overflow , Ars Technica pointed out.

Regarding why Cursor's output is similar to the advice that experienced programmers give to beginners on Stack Overflow, Ars Technica said, 'LLMs like Cursor use millions of coding discussions posted on platforms like Stack Overflow and GitHub for training, so they learn not only programming techniques but also the cultural norms and communication styles of the community.'

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in Software, Posted by logu_ii