Hey folks,

Just dropping in for a quick update on my recent adventures with artificial intelligence. No, I haven’t built a robot that makes coffee (yet), but I have been using AI tools to supercharge my work as a developer—and let’s just say, things got interesting.

Meet My New Coworkers: The AI Intern Army

A few weeks ago, I grabbed a license for Cursor.com, an AI coding assistant that feels like having a team of junior developers who never sleep, never ask for snacks, and somehow already know what you want before you finish typing it. It’s basically the dream—minus the awkward daily standups and empty coffee pods.

I threw it into the ring with a few Laravel + Filament projects, gave it some tough tasks, and boom—it nailed them. Honestly, it felt like having five little brainy helpers from Hogwarts, minus the robes and British accents.

Obsession Mode: Activated

Once I saw what it could do, I got carried away. I used it day and night, like a kid who just discovered cheat codes for life. I wasn’t holding back—refactoring, generating, tweaking, asking “why” 500 times a day. Pure joy.

Eventually, I did hit the usage limits on the basic plan. But no, this isn’t a “boo-hoo it’s too expensive” story. I’d happily drop $100/month or more for the perfect AI service that truly delivers—because when it works, it multiplies your productivity like magic.

Enter: PHPStorm AI Pro – The New Challenger

Now I’m testing out PHPStorm’s AI Pro add-on, curious to see how it stacks up. Will it be the reliable sidekick I’ve been searching for? Or just another “helpful” assistant that disappears when you actually need it—like my cat when it’s time to visit the vet?

Time will tell, but so far it looks promising.

The Big Picture: AI + Senior Devs = 🔥

Here’s the real takeaway: as a senior programmer, I’ve never felt this productive before. AI isn’t replacing me—it’s amplifying me. It’s like having someone beside you who’s read every manual ever written, speaks fluent Stack Overflow, and can spit out working code while you’re still sipping your coffee.

For folks like us, who already know how to code, debug, and design systems, AI is the perfect coding companion. It doesn’t just speed up your workflow—it brings back the fun. You get to focus on the big ideas, the architecture, the elegant solutions... while the AI handles the repetitive bits and the Stack Overflow deep dives.

In short: if you’re still on the fence about coding with AI, come on in. The water’s warm. And the bots are friendly.