Children in Colleges Are Skipping Lunch to Vibe Code

Vibe coding isn’t for the Gen Z builders anymore—it’s a playground viral pattern. Children are getting in on the motion and catching the vibe-code fever like their grown-up counterparts. Lately, Lovable founder Anton Osika shared a submit on X that mentioned, “Children may truly be higher at utilizing Lovable than adults. Limitless creativity, no worry.”

Osika described how a software program developer ran a ‘Create with AI’ session for 8–12-year-olds, the place the youngsters received so deeply engaged that they skipped their break and saved working even after college ended. “The longer term is brilliant!” Osika added.

In one other instance, at a current college session, children received hands-on with vibe coding utilizing v0. The result? A complete win. They constructed 2D video games and glossy consumer interfaces—all in a stress-free, enjoyable atmosphere that builds future-ready abilities.

Vibe-coding can be turning out to be a enjoyable child-parent exercise. One other consumer on X posted that he and his nine-year-old son constructed 3D worlds and interactive video games utilizing Replit. “My son went to an escape room. When he got here again, he needed to purchase the sport. I mentioned, let’s construct it. And we went cranking. We constructed this utilizing AI + Replit. It was a lot enjoyable,” mentioned the consumer.

“Thanks for the instruments OpenAI and Replit. Really easy getting children enthusiastic about STEM and AI.”

Zhen Li, creator of Replit agent, shared one other instance the place he constructed a 3D Pokémon Go together with Replit Agent’s Gaming stack. “From 3D mannequin era to finish video games—all via prompting on Replit. Vibe coding these video games looks like a glimpse into the long run. Think about how a lot children can be taught after they code their very own video games,” he mentioned.

For youths, although, vibe coding is much less about mastering complicated programming languages like Python or JavaScript and extra about creativity, problem-solving, and storytelling. As a substitute of writing intricate code, a baby may say, “Create a recreation the place a robotic collects stars,” and an AI instrument like Cursor or GitHub Copilot would generate the mandatory code, permitting the kid to tweak and iterate.

The web has numerous examples of children constructing their very own video video games utilizing video coding instruments. As AI instruments evolve, they must be included within the college curriculum as effectively, the place youngsters can mess around with them.

Colleges Ought to Replace the CS Curriculum

Colleges ought to introduce AI-powered platforms like Cursor, Windsurf, or Replit in elementary curricula. These instruments permit children to begin creating from day one, constructing confidence and pleasure.

Tristan Rhodes, founding father of Cherishable AI, just lately participated in an business advisory board at a college. One of many questions that got here up was: When is the precise time for college college students to begin utilizing AI coding instruments?

AIM spoke to a couple highschool college students who’re studying coding in colleges. They’re aware of coding via ChatGPT, however haven’t adopted any AI instruments but.

Pakhi, a CBSE class 9 scholar in Bengaluru, mentioned they had been taught C++ in sixth grade, HTML in seventh grade, and Java in eighth grade. Nonetheless, she added that it was her father who initially taught her coding, not the varsity.

Whereas she’s not conscious of the time period ‘vibe coding’, the duty that she does in school displays one thing related. “In class, we’re utilizing ChatGPT to make web sites,” she mentioned, including that AI is now a part of their curriculum, and they’re being taught and assessed on the topic.

Nonetheless, experiences range between college students. Aarav Mitra, one other scholar, informed AIM that their college doesn’t educate them easy methods to use ChatGPT, however they’re studying studying C++ fundamentals.

As AI instruments like ChatGPT turn out to be extra accessible, some imagine colleges ought to evolve their curriculum to replicate this shift. “I feel there must be a curriculum which inspires vibe coding at totally different age teams. Like programming fundamentals, we must always have one thing like ‘prompting fundamentals’,” Krishna Goutham, enterprise guide, Ideafolk.com, mentioned in a submit on X.

He additional added that youngsters ought to begin as early as potential, with ideas of software program improvement launched later. “For college college students, I feel vibe coding as a curriculum must be launched within the first yr itself,” he mentioned.

In India, the Central Board of Secondary Training (CBSE) launched AI as an non-obligatory topic for Class 9 college students within the 2019-2020 tutorial yr. Nonetheless, regardless of the formidable initiative, its implementation stays inconsistent.

Some are frightened concerning the crucial pondering facet. Dr. Abhay Jere, vice chairman of the All India Council for Technical Training (AICTE), who works intently with CBSE to assist college students and lecturers navigate AI instruments successfully, says college students are already utilizing AI-powered instruments like ChatGPT to write down essays. “The true problem is: How can we combine these instruments whereas nonetheless encouraging crucial pondering?” Dr Jere requested whereas talking at Tredence’s flagship occasion held in Bengaluru final month.

The shift is already seen. A Reddit submit recounted a father telling his 13-year-old son to skip conventional coding and simply vibe code. One other consumer on X joked that youngsters dream of being YouTubers at the moment, however as vibe coding instruments get higher, I feel we’ll see extra of them shifting their focus to turning into software program creators.

Nonetheless, vibe coding comes with its challenges. Therefore, as children create extra software program, colleges should give attention to the accountable use of AI, with a robust emphasis on knowledge privateness and safety. Vibe-coded apps could be weak to hacks if not correctly vetted, so colleges might want to incorporate cybersecurity schooling alongside vibe coding.

Whereas vibe coding is highly effective, colleges should be certain that college students grasp core programming ideas to keep away from over-reliance on AI instruments. As Replit CEO Amjad Masad places it, coding isn’t fully out of date—no less than not but. He encourages a robust basis in programming as a approach to construct extra common abilities.

“I’d say be taught a little bit of coding… Discover ways to suppose, easy methods to break down issues… Discover ways to talk clearly, as you’d with people, but in addition with machines,” he mentioned.

The submit Children in Colleges Are Skipping Lunch to Vibe Code appeared first on Analytics India Journal.