The "Wait, Should I Fix the Code or the Test?" Moment ; AI Finally Gets It

Remember when AI coding assistants were basically that intern who'd do anything to make the tests pass? Change the test assertions? Sure! Throw any at every TypeScript error? Why not! Add @ts-ignore like it's going out of style? You bet!

Well, something shifted.

I was really excited when Cursor - regarding this im more of a Claude guy and thats probably why I didn't renew my linkedin subscription I gotta save hh - said it would check the actual implementation of a hook and then decided to update it. about The fact that AI can now( or at least try )tell the difference between "I need to fix the actual code" versus "I need to update the test" is pretty remarkable.

This matters because it shows the AI actually understands what you're trying to do, not just how to write code. Tests are there to catch problems—they shouldn't be changed just to make everything look green again. When AI recognizes that a failing test is actually pointing to a real bug in your code, and fixes the right thing, it starts feeling less like a tool and more like a teammate who gets it.

This kind of judgment helps keep your codebase healthy, stops you from accidentally hiding bugs, and honestly just works the way experienced developers think. It seems like a small thing, but it's actually a huge deal for making AI coding assistants something you can really trust and rely on.

No more "let's just slap any on this and call it a day." No more treating TypeScript like an annoying coworker you can just ignore. The AI is finally learning what every senior dev already knows: sometimes the red squiggly lines are trying to tell you something important.

Don't get me wrong—it's still garbage in a lot of ways. But it's getting better. And honestly? It writes code better than me sometimes, which is both impressive and mildly embarrassing .