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The teens building with AI today will define how we use it tomorrow—so why do we push them to be consumers instead of creators?

At Hack Club I've reviewed thousands of projects teens built using AI coding tools. What stands out is how easy it is to tell whether someone used AI to complement their skills or replace them entirely.

Vibecoding produces a finished (albeit generic and unpolished) product way too early in the development cycle. Now, Gen Z and Gen Alpha are paying the price. They see AI as their cheat code. Relying on it to earn rewards without substantial work. At the moment, they're not learning AI fluency, they're learning AI convenience.

Schools cannot teach AI fluency. But the real world can and does. Making projects and getting user feedback is in my eyes the only way to teach the difference between vibecoded slop, and quality AI-assisted work.

At Hack Club, I'm helping lead this change.

We're teaching teens AI fluency by pushing them to build creative solutions that real people actually use. Because real end-users have standards that matter. Your CS teacher doesn't.

The way we develop solutions is changing. We have to acknowledge it.