Thirteen-year-old Usman Asif and his 18-year-old sister Shanzey Asif made a striking impression at a 24-hour hackathon hosted by Cursor in Singapore, where they competed alongside seasoned tech professionals. Usman, the youngest participant, had just learned vibe coding—using AI to generate code through detailed prompts—only weeks earlier, but by the end of the event, he had built an AI-powered sports coach. Shanzey, a 12th grader in an International Baccalaureate program, created a website to help astronomy enthusiasts in Singapore track when planets are visible in the night sky. The siblings’ journey into AI began when their father, Asif Saleem, a Google employee, attended a local vibe coding class and built a financial statement analyzer. Intrigued, Usman and Shanzey signed up for the same course, despite being surrounded by executives from major tech companies like Google, Oracle, and Amazon. At first, the experience was intimidating. Shanzey had expected to write code, but quickly learned that the real skill lay in crafting precise, detailed prompts—essentially teaching the AI what to do, like a teacher guiding a student. Usman struggled at first, facing a chain of bugs that frustrated him. “It kind of drove me crazy because I did not know what to do,” he said. But with persistence, he learned to interpret the AI’s responses and fix issues step by step. Both siblings now see prompt engineering as a core skill—“You have to instruct the AI like a teacher to a student,” Usman said. The family decided to test their new skills together in the Cursor hackathon, where they created an AI-powered university guidance counselor, inspired by a dinner table conversation about Shanzey’s future college choices. Over 12 hours of intense coding, Asif drafted the initial version, Shanzey designed the interface and added features, and Usman planned and filmed the demo video. Though they didn’t win, the experience was deeply rewarding. The family has set clear boundaries around AI use, especially in school. “When she’s studying, she can’t use AI for the content she’s creating,” Asif said, emphasizing the importance of original work. Screen time and gaming are also managed through a reward system tied to daily responsibilities. For Shanzey, the biggest takeaway was the value of structure—organizing tasks and inputs, much like managing schoolwork. Usman learned that success comes from depth, not shortcuts. “There are no shortcuts to success,” he said. “You just have to do it the hard way and learn the hard way.” Both siblings believe AI will be a constant in their lives, no matter their future careers. Shanzey sees AI as a tool in fields like law or psychology. Usman is considering a full-time career in AI app development, excited by the possibilities ahead.