How a 14 Year Old Student is Building with AI at Alpha School

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Jan 27, 2026

Ali Romman, a 14-year-old Alpha School freshman building AI-powered tools, is vibe-coding a PC configurator and chatbot. He talks about AI already being in classrooms, where to draw the line between cheating and learning, how to build MVPs in public, and using a fail-fast mindset while exploring entrepreneurship and AI-forward education.

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ANECDOTE

A Teen Building A PC Recommender

Ali is a 14-year-old freshman at Alpha School building an AI chatbot that recommends gaming PCs.
The bot asks simple questions and returns a custom parts list in about 15 minutes.

ANECDOTE

First ChatGPT Moment Sparked Curiosity

Ali first discovered ChatGPT in 2022 when a teacher showed it to help write a school court-case script.
He recalled the moment as “magic” when the words appeared and it sparked his interest in AI.

INSIGHT

Vibe Coding Lowers The Barrier To Build

Ali realized vibe coding lowers the barrier to building because AI can convert ideas into code.
That shift made entrepreneurship and rapid prototyping feel attainable without deep prior coding knowledge.

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I sat down with Ali Romman, a 14-year-old freshman at Alpha School in Austin who’s already using AI like a co-founder. He’s vibe coding an MVP in public and building an AI-powered tool that helps people design and buy the right gaming PC, even if they know nothing about computers.

This conversation is a real look at what kids are facing right now: AI in schools, cheating vs learning, what guardrails actually work, and why the new “gap” isn’t access to tools, it’s curiosity, initiative, and how fast you can learn.

Topics we cover:

AI isn’t “coming”, it’s already in the classroom: what that actually looks like day-to-day
Cheating vs learning: where Ali draws the line and why boundaries matter
College and how AI is changing the value of traditional education
Vibe coding a real MVP: how Ali’s building a PC configurator + chatbot
Building in public at 14: confidence, pressure, and learning at startup speed
Fail fast mindset: getting beta testers and feedback instead of guessing forever

Tools, Platforms, and References Mentioned:

ChatGPT, Gemini 3 Pro, Claude 4.5 Opus
Alpha School (https://alpha.school/)
Cline (VS Code extension) (https://cline.bot/)
Cursor
“Fail Fast, Fail Often” (book) (https://www.amazon.com/Fail-Fast-Often-Losing-Help/dp/0399166254)

Who this episode is for:

Founders and builders who want a glimpse of what the next generation is actually doing with AI
Parents trying to navigate “should my kid use AI?” (spoiler: they already are)
Educators and school leaders thinking about ethical AI policies and real guardrails
Anyone who needs proof that you don’t need permission, credentials, or a CS degree to build now

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