Imposter Syndrome in the Age of AI: I Use Cursor and I Don't Feel Bad About It

Imposter Syndrome in the Age of AI: I Use Cursor and I Don't Feel Bad About It

So here's the thing: I use AI for coding. A lot. Cursor is basically my co-pilot, GitHub Copilot fills in my functions, and ChatGPT helps me debug weird edge cases. And you know what? I'm faster and more productive than I've ever been.

But apparently, this makes me a fake developer or something.

The New Flavor of Imposter Syndrome

Classic imposter syndrome was about feeling like you didn't know enough, that you were fooling everyone into thinking you could code. The new version is different: “Am I actually coding if AI is writing half of it?”

I've seen developers genuinely stressed about this. They're worried that using AI makes them lazy, that they're not “real” developers anymore, that they're somehow cheating.

Let's Be Real About What AI Actually Does

AI doesn't write your applications for you. It doesn't architect your systems, make technical decisions, or understand your business requirements. What it does is:

• Speed up the boring stuff - Boilerplate, repetitive patterns, standard implementations
• Help with syntax - Especially when switching between languages or frameworks
• Suggest solutions - Which you still need to evaluate, test, and often modify
• Catch obvious mistakes - Like a really smart linter that can explain why

You know what AI doesn't do? Figure out that your healthcare compliance platform needs to handle edge cases for Medicare Advantage plans, or that your API needs rate limiting because users are hammering the search endpoint.

Case Study: This Site

Want a concrete example? The portfolio site you're reading this on—including this entire blog system—was built in about 2 hours using Cursor.

Two. Hours.

That includes:

• Next.js 15 setup with TypeScript
• Tailwind CSS styling and custom design system
• shadcn/ui components integration
• Blog architecture with static generation
• Framer Motion animations throughout
• SEO optimization with metadata and JSON-LD
• Responsive design that works on everything
• Dark/light theme switching
• This blog post you're reading right now

Now, before you think “See? AI did all the work!”—hold on. Cursor didn't make any of the important decisions. It didn't decide on the architecture, choose the tech stack, design the user experience, or figure out how to separate server and client components for optimal performance.

What Cursor did was eliminate the friction. When I decided I wanted a blog system, I didn't have to spend 30 minutes looking up Next.js routing patterns or remembering Framer Motion syntax. I just described what I wanted and Cursor helped implement it.

The speed came from removing all the small delays—the “how do I do X again?” moments that usually break flow state. Instead of context switching to documentation, I stayed focused on the actual problem-solving.

Results Don't Lie

Here's my honest experience: Since I started using AI tools heavily, I've:

• Built features faster without sacrificing quality
• Spent less time on Stack Overflow looking up syntax
• Caught bugs earlier because AI spots patterns I miss
• Actually learned new approaches by seeing how AI solves problems
• Had more mental energy for the hard problems that actually matter

My code reviews are cleaner. My clients are happier. The applications I build work better and get delivered faster. So where exactly is the problem?

The Carpenter Analogy

Nobody expects a carpenter to cut wood with a hand saw when power tools exist. They don't question whether someone is a “real carpenter” because they use a nail gun instead of a hammer.

The value isn't in the tool—it's in knowing how to use it, when to use it, and what to build. A carpenter with power tools can build better houses faster. A developer with AI can build better software faster.

What Actually Makes You a Good Developer

After using AI extensively, I'm convinced that what makes someone a good developer has nothing to do with memorizing syntax or writing boilerplate from scratch:

• Problem-solving - Breaking down complex requirements into manageable pieces
• System thinking - Understanding how components interact and scale
• Code quality judgment - Knowing good code from bad code, regardless of who wrote it
• Testing and debugging - Ensuring your solutions actually work
• Communication - Translating business needs into technical solutions

None of these skills are diminished by using AI. If anything, they become more important because you're operating at a higher level.

The Real Question

Instead of asking “Am I a real developer if I use AI?” maybe ask:

• Am I solving real problems for real users?
• Am I delivering working software on time?
• Am I constantly learning and improving?
• Am I making good technical decisions?

If you can answer yes to those questions, then congratulations—you're a developer. The tools you use are just implementation details.

Embrace the Future

AI isn't going away. It's going to get better, faster, and more integrated into our workflows. You can either feel guilty about using it or you can get really good at leveraging it to build amazing things.

I choose option two. My imposter syndrome these days isn't about whether I'm using AI—it's about whether I'm using it well enough.

And honestly? That feels like a much better problem to have.