SAEDNEWS: Alexander Wang, an AI billionaire who dropped out of MIT and is now 28 years old, says that the key to future success is learning how to use AI-powered code-generation tools.
According to the technology section of Saed News, the founder of the AI education startup Scale AI recommends that all teenagers start learning to use AI tools as early as possible and become proficient in them.
In one episode of the TBPN podcast, Wang shared advice for young people, especially noting that artificial intelligence is increasingly replacing programmers in major tech companies. He mentioned that at companies like Microsoft and Google, AI now writes up to 30% of project code on its own.
Meanwhile, AI-powered programming tools such as Replit and Cursor, which can generate portions of code from simple commands, have given rise to a method called “vibe-coding.” This approach allows anyone—even non-technical individuals—to create apps and websites by instructing AI in plain, understandable English. Interestingly, Google CEO Sundar Pichai admitted in June that he had used vibe-coding with AI to build a web page himself.
Wang emphasized that young people should dedicate themselves fully to vibe-coding and make it a lifestyle. In the podcast, he said:
"If you are, for example, 13 years old, you should spend all your time vibe-coding. This is your way of life."
He also noted that if teenagers invest around 10,000 hours in learning AI programming tools, they will gain a significant advantage.
Wang founded Scale AI in 2016 after leaving MIT during his first year. The startup focuses on data labeling for AI training, and he served as its CEO for nearly a decade.
The rapid growth of Scale AI made Wang the youngest self-made billionaire in the world, with a net worth reportedly reaching $2 billion, according to Forbes.
In June, Wang announced that he plans to leave Scale AI and join Meta. In exchange for acquiring 49% of the startup’s shares and access to talent including Wang himself, Meta invested $14.3 billion in Scale AI. This investment nearly doubled the company’s valuation from $14 billion to $29 billion.
Now Meta’s Chief AI Officer, Wang told TBPN that AI’s ability to write code has been a game-changing development.
"You can’t underestimate the impact AI programming has had on me. In my view, the role of an engineer has fundamentally changed compared to the past."
Wang predicts that within the next five years, AI models will be capable of generating massive amounts of code, potentially including all the code he has written so far.
His views echo those of Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company. In June, Huang stated that it no longer matters whether someone knows traditional programming, because a “new programming language”—natural language—exists, allowing people to direct AI using plain English.