Code without limits, build without barriers

This week I was helping my daughter submit her project to the Presidential AI challenge. The packet had a few questions that my daughter had to answer. One of the takeaways for her was that AI only performed as well as you train it (we built an AI model using Teachable Machine and she painstakingly created 20 classes and uploaded the images only to find the model give wrong answers sometimes!), but the other takeaway was that AI made it very easy for her to build the app from just explaining what she wanted in English! The look of happiness in her eyes on having been able to build an app based on what she wanted with the color scheme and all, was priceless. She is now full of ideas on games and apps we could build. This here, is the positive impact of AI - unlocking the creativity in kids and removing the bar to innovate.

When I read the Claude code article, it wasn’t surprising that non-technical people were using AI to make their work easier. That said, I think the proportion of those still waiting to try out AI due to the fear of technology is significant. The administration’s workforce development priorities, specifically its strategic roadmap for workforce development, prioritizes AI literacy across all workers and competency-based assessments that measure what you can actually do - not credentials or degrees - making AI skills accessible to everyone willing to learn by doing.

Would you be willing to break down the barriers to start learning AI? Let us know in the comments.

-Janani

Event Date: March 26, 2026
Registration: Free and open now

What: A national celebration of AI education where students, educators, and communities come together to explore artificial intelligence through hands-on activities, demonstrations, and learning experiences. This one-day festival brings AI education to life across the country.

Who: Students of all ages (K-12), educators, parents, and anyone curious about AI. Perfect for beginners and those already interested in technology.

Format: Schools, libraries, museums, and community centers host local events featuring:

What Makes It Special: This isn't a competition - it's a celebration of learning. Day of AI provides free curriculum resources, activity guides, and materials so any school or community organization can participate. Students get to experience AI in action, not just read about it in textbooks.

Perfect for: Students who want hands-on AI experience, schools looking to introduce AI concepts to their community, and anyone curious about how AI actually works. No prior experience required!

They're calling it getting "Claude-pilled" - the moment when people hand their work over to Anthropic's Claude AI and witness capabilities that shock even experienced developers.

Over the holidays, something remarkable happened. Software engineers spent their breaks on "Claude benders" testing Claude Code. But the viral moment wasn't just among programmers - non-engineers flooded social media describing building their first software program without ever learning to code.

Malte Ubl, CTO at Vercel, finished a complex project in one week that would've taken him a year without AI. He spent 10 hours a day on vacation building, describing each run as giving him "an endorphin rush akin to playing a Vegas slot machine."

Andrew Duca, CEO of Awaken Tax, has coded since middle school. His reaction? "I spent my whole life developing this skill, and it's literally one-shotted by Claude Code." He had planned to hire new engineers but didn't. Claude Code makes him five times more productive.

People are using it for everything: analyzing federal data, recovering corrupted wedding photos, building websites, answering email backlogs, even watching tomato plants grow via webcam. Shopify's CEO used it to analyze his own MRI.

For students, this changes everything. The barrier between having an idea and building a solution has collapsed. You don't need years of syntax memorization or college CS courses. If you can think critically about a problem and articulate what you want to build, you can create functional applications today.

The students who thrive will be the ones who learned to identify problems worth solving and iterate rapidly.

Read more: Claude Is Taking the AI World by Storm

Nearly half of college graduates feel unprepared for even entry-level jobs. One in six hiring managers hesitate to hire recent grads due to lack of workplace skills like teamwork and communication.

Yet nine in ten educators believe their graduates ARE ready.

This disconnect reveals a fundamental crisis. The pandemic widened the gap - remote learning deprived students of lab work, campus leadership, and collaboration. But there's a deeper problem: entry-level roles that once taught basics are disappearing to AI automation. Data analysis, coding, report writing - the foundational work that allowed new hires to learn while contributing - is increasingly automated.

Universities measure preparedness by course mastery. Employers prize teamwork and problem-solving under pressure - skills lectures can't teach, especially when AI handles fact recall.

What's working? Direct collaboration between universities and industry. Purdue and Eli Lilly's $250 million partnership in AI and robotics. Google's AI lab at Carnegie Mellon. Siemens' Center at Georgia Tech. When students work with industry mentors on real problems, they gain judgment and teamwork textbooks can't teach.

The conclusion: "No algorithm can substitute for sound judgment, teamwork, or the ability to communicate clearly. Those skills are the sole product of human experience."

For high school students, traditional education focused purely on academic credentials is failing. Students who gain hands-on experience building real projects now will enter college and careers with advantages their peers lack.

Read more: Fortune 500 exec: College grads aren't ready

In our Mastery track, we teach advanced concepts like computer vision using OpenCV - the same technology powering facial recognition, self-driving cars, and medical imaging systems.

This week, we're highlighting a project that perfectly demonstrates what happens when students move beyond theory to hands-on implementation.

Mithra, a 7th grader from North Carolina, combined computer vision with the Minimax algorithm to create an intelligent Tic Tac Toe game that doesn't just play - it thinks strategically about every move.

What makes this remarkable isn't just that a 7th grader built it. It's that our Mastery track gives students the foundation to understand both the "why" and the "how" behind these technologies.

Students learn computer vision not as abstract theory, but as a tool they immediately apply to solve problems and create experiences. The Minimax algorithm, used in everything from game AI to decision-making systems, becomes tangible when you're implementing it to create an unbeatable opponent.

This is hands-on learning: students don't just consume information about computer vision and algorithms. They build working applications that demonstrate genuine understanding of complex concepts.

And they do it while having fun playing (and trying to beat) their own creations

Check out this student developed game: Tic Tac Toe with AI →

Use code NEWYEAR50 - offer expires January 31st!
February cohort starts February 7, 2026

Only days left to start 2026 with real AI skills at a discounted rate!

Here's what you get with just one hour per week for 6 months:

✅ Hands-on AI skills through building real applications - not watching lectures
✅ 3 transferable college credits from University of Colorado Denver
✅ Portfolio of real work that demonstrates capability to colleges and employers
✅ Small class sizes (capped at 20 students) ensuring personalized attention
✅ Advanced concepts like OpenCV, Minimax algorithms, computer vision, and more
✅ The critical thinking and problem-solving skills employers desperately need

While college grads struggle with workplace readiness and entry-level jobs disappear to automation, Flintolabs students are building portfolios of real work that demonstrate genuine capability.

Our students aren't just learning about AI - they're building games, creating tools, solving real problems, and developing the judgment that comes from hands-on creation.

Enroll now with code NEWYEAR50 →

Our program has a 5-star rating with reviews from both students and parents.
Questions? Email us at [email protected]

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Found this valuable? Forward this newsletter to other high schoolers and parents who want to be informed about AI trends and what is needed to prepare for an AI-driven future. Every student deserves the chance to build real skills before college.

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