Experienced technicians showed up for vibration coding classes over the weekend. Somewhere between them sat a 13-year-old teenager, calmly planning to hire an artificial intelligence sports coach.
Usman Asif was the youngest person in the room. His 18-year-old sister Shanzi Asif was in the same class in Singapore.
“I was surrounded by people much older than me, with a lot of experience in technology,” he told Business Insider. “But I felt like age was just a number.”
When he started programming Vibe, “it was weird but fun,” he said.
By the end of the second day, the teenager had coded the sports coach using artificial intelligence. His sister created a website to help astronomy enthusiasts in Singapore see when planets are visible.
How teenagers came to Vibe programming
The family's AI journey began with their father Asif Saleem, who works on Google as a leader in entering the financial services market in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. He learned about vibration coding, or how to get AI to generate code, and was curious to know how it worked. tools on the market.
In June, he attended a local Vibecoding course. By the end of the weekend, he had created a financial statement analyzer.
Usman and Shanzi, who were already interested in AI, saw what their father was doing and wanted to be part of the class.
Madiha Asif, Asif Saleem, Usman Asif and Shanzi Asif. Lee Chong Min/Business Insider
A few weeks later, both siblings signed up for the same course as their father.
“It was pretty scary at first,” Shanzi said. “I didn’t really know what vibration coding was.”
Most of those present were managers. “They already had an idea of what coding was, and some of it was similar to working at Google, Oracle and even Amazon,” Shanzi said.
Baby gets to know his first AI apps
One day the instructors broke down what was the coding in viberfor Shanzi, it became “really easy” and fun.
The 12th grader, who is attending the International Baccalaureate program, initially thought she need to write codebut learned that the prompts are what drive the whole process.
When her space website came out, she thought, “This is great. I didn’t even have to program anything.”
Shanzi Asif is a 12th grade International Baccalaureate student. Lee Chong Min/Business Insider
Usman said his experience coding Vibe was riddled with errors.
“It drove me crazy because I didn't know what to do,” he said. Every time he asked the AI to fix an error, it generated another one.
“But it’s like, you know, one mistake after another and then you get there,” the teenager said.
With practice he learned that meant different errors and how to get AI to solve them.
Both siblings sound like tiny product managers when they talk about cues, which they say are the basis of the vibration coding process.
“Tips should contain detailed information and reliable information. You have to give instructions to the AI like a teacher to a student,” Usman said.
Usman Asif created an artificial intelligence sports coach at the end of a vibration coding class in Singapore. Lee Chong Min/Business Insider
Shanzi added that the very first clue determines the direction of the application. She also said users can use the models to create more effective hints.
Join the hackathon with your whole family
Vibe programming didn't immediately become a family routine. In school, work and exams, everyone has tinkered with AI at one time or another.
After finishing the vibe coding class, Asif, Usman and Shanzi decided to test their skills together on 24-hour Cursor hackathon in Singapore. The October event attracted hundreds of participants, mostly adults.
“Our only goal was to complete the project,” Shanzi said. “Whatever happened after that was part of the experience.”
The trio quickly settled on an idea that began as a conversation at the dinner table: choosing Shenzi's future college.
Their project was an artificial intelligence-based university consultant.
Shanzi Asif has created a website to help astronomy enthusiasts see when planets are visible. Lee Chong Min/Business Insider
The family atmosphere continued for about 12 hours straight, then went home and returned the next morning to see the results. Each person played a critical role: Asif developed the first version, Shanzi refined the interface and added new features, and Usman outlined the key elements for the demo video, which Shanzi then produced.
Although they didn't win, the experience was one of the most memorable things they did together.
“I was very, very pleased with what we were able to achieve, the way Shanzi and Usman stepped up,” Asif said. “It was a lot of fun.”
Guardrails, findings, and the future of artificial intelligence
Despite all the hype around AI in the household, there is restrictions on how it is used — especially when it comes to schoolwork.
“When she’s studying, she can’t use AI to create content,” Asif said of his daughter. “This is very important because schools will always check the results.” The same rule applies to Usman.
Asif and his wife manage screen time and gaming through a reward system.
“If you want to spend some time with me or play, it should be a reward for achieving certain goals,” like making breakfast, Asif said.
Asif Saleem, who works at Google, says he's setting boundaries on screen time and the use of AI. Lee Chong Min/Business Insider
The siblings said that by setting these boundaries, AI programming taught them some valuable lessons.
For Shanzi, the most important issue was the importance of structure. Providing clear, organized instructions to the AI was much like managing various school requirements: exams, essays, activities, and volunteering.
According to her, a systematic approach to things often leads to success.
Usman's point was about depth. Programming Vibe taught him that good results will come. from thoughtful, detailed answersnot labels.
“There are no shortcuts to success,” he said. “You just have to do it the hard way and learn the hard way. I could also implement this into my daily life at school.”
Usman and Shanzi are confident that AI will part of their future.
“No matter what I end up doing, I think AI will always be a part of my life,” Shanzi said. “If I go into law or psychology or something like that, I think AI will make a huge contribution to that.”
The 13-year-old sees potential in creating apps full-time.
“I feel like I could have a career in AI, like building AI applications,” he said. “I hope I have a bright future with AI.”
Do you have a Vibe coding story to share? Contact this reporter at [email protected].
