Ten-Year-Olds Mastering AI

Author: Big Dog, Dr. X

Image Source: Generated by Boundless AI

Deepseek has emerged, and the discussion has continued for half a month: from Deepseek topping global app stores to various AI courses being sold, using Deepseek for fortune-telling, elderly people using AI to write poetry, and having AI imitate Lu Xun's sharp critiques…

I just smiled slightly; there was nothing surprising about it.

Until I saw a post on Xiaohongshu that shocked me:

A user posted a video teaching everyone how to use AI to assist in coding to solve programming efficiency issues.

This involved an AI programming software called Cursor, which, after inputting commands, created a C++ snake game.

Knowing programming and being able to skillfully use AI… you must think this is a tech blogger working in programming, right?

Wrong! This "teacher" @Yang, who loves programming, is only about 10 years old and still a primary school student. Not only that, but if you click on his Xiaohongshu profile, you can also see him teaching others how to use AI to improve vocabulary memorization efficiency, recommending algorithm books he has read, and even announcing his preparation to participate in a programming competition in the U.S. — the Olympiad in Informatics.

Yang, who loves programming, Xiaohongshu profile

When I first came across this note, I was indeed shocked. How could I find such tech and geek content on Xiaohongshu? Isn’t Xiaohongshu a lifestyle community focused on food, fun, and leisure?

The more I scrolled, the more I found that primary school students mastering AI is not an isolated case. I actually saw a group of children sharing AI content on Xiaohongshu, often around ten years old, yet they could skillfully use AI and explain terms that even adults find difficult to understand.

At this moment, the boundary of the future has already emerged.

Because these children mastering AI are the so-called AI natives, right?!

Movie "Artificial Intelligence" (2001)

AI Natives and the Future Boundary

Why do I say that the emergence of AI natives marks the boundary of the future?

Asking this question is not meant to sensationalize. In fact, discussions about "AI natives" (AI Native generation/Gen AI) have been happening in the forward-looking circles of Silicon Valley for several years. You can see that the titles of these articles carry a sci-fi flavor, as if a new world is about to arrive?

Understanding AI Natives

"AI Natives" Generation Z is eager to be at the forefront

An article summarizing the characteristics of AI natives is quite interesting, titled "2025 marks the beginning of Generation Beta, the AI-native kids," stating that they have three main characteristics:

1. They were born after 2010.

2. They have been exposed to AI from a young age, naturally know how to use it, and can understand it.

3. AI is a part of their lives.

Please pay attention to the key point here: birth time. Because from a historical perspective, every technological revolution creates a watershed, leading to a significant gap between the two generations. And these two generations will always have huge differences in thinking and cognition.

The most recent example of this generational gap is the "internet natives," which everyone has experienced but rarely delved into.

In the 1990s, the internet was an absolutely new thing for the public. Some old-school experts, when the internet first appeared, expressed great skepticism and pessimism; they not only failed to foresee the future but also believed that the internet had no commercial value beyond chatting and selling adult content.

Among them, an online bookstore faced significant skepticism during its early stages, with reasons including but not limited to "books sold online are invisible and untouchable, the experience is poor," and "online stores don't have live staff like physical stores," and this bookstore that was doubted later became Amazon, which surpassed $380 billion in revenue.

At that time, most people could not understand that in a few years, all primary and middle school students would be able to chat on QQ, a group of non-literary teenagers would create online literature, and a group of online gaming youths would elevate a thirty-year-old young man to the position of China's richest man, whose name was Chen Tianqiao.

Early interactions of internet natives — still in the budding stage, no one could imagine that such chatting would lead to QQ and create an internet giant.

Do you remember when we had a class called "Microcomputer Class," where primary school students would solemnly wear shoe covers, line up to enter the microcomputer room, sit up straight, and learn to boot up, shut down, operate the DOS system for drawing, and edit Word documents under the teacher's guidance… Why wear shoe covers? Because computers are high-tech and must be treated with respect and kept dust-free!

This is called ineffective learning, a performance created by outdated people.

Meanwhile, another group of young people, the so-called internet natives, naturally viewed the internet as a part of life. They inherently enjoyed watching "The Matrix," quickly learned to chat using instant messaging software, intuitively understood the social structure and trading systems of online games, and downloaded BT seeds…

As time went on, the gap between the two generations grew larger. The "pre-internet" generation carried too many burdens, making judgments that were completely wrong, and found it difficult to understand the significance of "internet natives" for the future.

They absolutely could not imagine that a group of seemingly frivolous young people, fiddling with code, lacking qualifications and recognition, actually held the tools to connect to the future. Among them, the outstanding ones would inevitably leverage "technology" to create companies worth billions or even hundreds of billions, shaping the future's direction.

For example, a typical case is Mark Zuckerberg, who started programming in high school and later created Facebook, becoming a billionaire in his twenties.

Facebook is also a product that only the internet generation would understand (still from "The Social Network")

Another typical case is Snapchat, which originated from a few young people in a Stanford dorm discussing the idea of "self-destructing messages." Its process of going from zero to one and rapidly rising has a flavor of the "garage startup" typical of internet natives.

Today, internet natives are no longer a novelty.

But the rapid rise of AI forces people to look back to the time when the internet was just emerging.

It is undeniable that the future is shifting from "internet natives" to "AI natives." And these "future owners" will be more vigorous and have greater potential.

Therefore, Silicon Valley tycoons, investment gurus, and cryptocurrency godfather Balaji boldly predict that:

Internet native Zuckerberg became a billionaire in his twenties,

the AI generation may see billionaires in their teens.

What he means is that these children who grew up with AI from a young age will have ways of thinking, working, and even interacting with society that are definitely completely different from our generation, almost like two different species.

Silicon Valley thinker: Balaji, whose book "The Balaji Prophecy" focuses on analyzing how technology will shape our future.

Let me make a somewhat inappropriate prediction. Back when we were memorizing "Memorial on the Expedition," playing "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" on the Famicom, "AI natives" might be using AI to build models of the Three Kingdoms game; when we were troubled by boring interest classes, "AI natives" might be using their familiar technology to create games, music, and short films…

I wonder how you feel about hearing this? I, for one, feel very excited.

Ten-Year-Olds Mastering AI

What excites me is that the future is not a completely invisible "fog of war"; it is hidden in the details of the present.

Although "internet natives" are still in the process of growing, the communities they gather in are definitely worth paying close attention to, because they hide information that can glimpse the future.

Based on my observations, in the English-speaking world, "AI natives" are highly concentrated in one community — Reddit. Meanwhile, the emerging trend in our country is — Xiaohongshu.

The old community Reddit covers a wide range of topics including anime, conspiracy theories, pop culture, entertainment gossip, and digital currency… it has content for everyone, with a vast age range of users.

Currently, on Reddit, AI natives are most active in technology, learnmachinelearning, ArtificialIntelligence, and other tech-related sections. The discussions are still quite niche, purely a geek park.

What are they busy with? Many adults would probably feel like they are reading a foreign language.

For example, a PhD student is planning to start a business with his 16-year-old brother, intending to develop a robot with machine learning vision components using a Raspberry Pi microcomputer, and is currently recruiting partners.

This 14-year-old teenager is trying to create a stock predictor with an accuracy of over 40% using AI machine learning within a week.

I can faintly smell the scent of money.

On the domestic front, the shares from "AI natives" on Xiaohongshu appear to be more practical and life-oriented, with a strong discussion atmosphere.

Below the notes shared by AI natives on Xiaohongshu, there are often various discussions. For instance, under a note where a primary school student debates with AI on "Do we still need to learn programming with AI?", people began discussing whether AI could develop self-awareness.

These "AI natives" demonstrate a level of understanding and application of AI that reflects an "maturity" inconsistent with their age (which is not surprising).

For example, this child can not only analyze the pros and cons of OpenAI Sora but also point out physical errors in AI-generated images. Moreover, he can host video lectures to share his insights.

Xiaohongshu ID: Tracy the Experimenter

This primary school student teaches everyone how to use Crispe to customize a personal AI language teacher, effortlessly using terms like "prompt framework format" and "human-machine collaboration framework."

The professionalism of the knowledge even leaves adults puzzled.

Xiaohongshu ID: Little Tuan Tuan Big Thoughts

This primary school student teaches how to use Deepseek + NaturalReader for homework, even instructing how to use AI tools to conveniently listen to English podcasts.

Xiaohongshu ID: EMMA's Mom Sandra

There are many similar examples on Xiaohongshu; you can find them if you're interested.

These discussions and shares may still be in the undercurrent stage, akin to a spark.

But based on the development pace of the previous node — "internet natives," I have a strong feeling that the time when "AI natives" will collectively erupt, producing a few historical figures and groundbreaking projects that shake everyone's understanding, is really not far off.

The number one player defining the future, the "Zuckerberg" of the AI era, is likely to emerge in the near future.

The Underflow of the Future Has Emerged

So, perhaps in the near future, there will be similar notes on Xiaohongshu: "I, 14 years old, have created an AI game project, preparing to raise 10 million, recruiting peers!"

If this situation really occurs, I wouldn't be surprised. Because AI natives have already begun to emerge on Xiaohongshu, and the daring "futuristic mavericks" may soon appear on Xiaohongshu.

Now, someone might ask, shouldn't the so-called "AI natives" be born in more vertical tech communities? How could they appear on Xiaohongshu?

This may primarily relate to the diversity of the community. Similar to Reddit, as a UGC community, Xiaohongshu has a vast demographic, and the independent individuals within the community are inherently real and diverse. The content produced is no longer limited to lifestyle; it spans from cutting-edge technology to daily life, from stock trading to UFOs, from indie games to niche music — it has it all.

It's like an ecosystem cannot consist of a single species; only with species diversity can it maintain its fundamental vitality. The prosperity of a UGC community also requires the collision of different individuals' thoughts, feelings, and experiences.

From foreigners flooding into the comment section to "reconcile," to the emergence of diverse AI applications on Xiaohongshu, we can easily see that regardless of your nationality, no matter how niche your interests are, or how obscure, rare, or cutting-edge your knowledge is, it can always take root and sprout in this highly inclusive community, even extending into new creations.

Both internet natives and AI natives share a significant characteristic: they do not harbor any fear of the internet and AI but instead embrace them rapidly.

And I have seen this manifest on the Xiaohongshu platform: a group of children discussing AI content is no different from sharing about eating hamburgers, playing games, or buying clothes. For AI natives, AI is simply a part of their lives. It is not a narrative of a single discourse system, nor is it a small group holding discourse hegemony.

Everyone should not think that all of this is just an internal climax or a future fantasy. After all, many major projects initiated by "internet natives" also began with small observations of life and related ideas that seemed quite insignificant.

And our future may very well be born from the daily lives shared by AI natives.

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