What happens when students are told not to use AI, but also told they’ll need it for their careers?
For Aasha Khan, a Grade 12 student at Cameron Heights and founder of Youth Tech Labs, that tension defined her first encounters with AI. At school, the message was clear: avoid AI or risk suspension. At home, her father, a Chief AI Officer, encouraged her to explore the technology. The mixed signals left her, like many of her peers, caught between fear and curiosity.
Aasha decided to create a safe space where high schoolers could learn AI together. Youth Tech Labs has since grown into a community that draws more than a hundred students, runs hands-on workshops, and hosts demo days where participants present their AI projects. Along the way, Aasha launched AskEve, an AI chatbot designed to break stigma around menstruation and open up conversations often kept silent.
This is the third and final part of our Back to School Special. If you missed them, check out episode four with Dvir Zagury on how curiosity led him from quantum foundations to health tech and personalized AI here: https://rss.com/podcasts/manaryhaus/2182186/ and episode five with Aleks Santari on how AI can fundamentally change the way interfaces are designed here: https://rss.com/podcasts/manaryhaus/2185753
🔑 What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- ✅ Why unclear rules around AI leave students confused and divided
- ✅ How Youth Tech Labs helps students build real projects in a supportive environment
- ✅ Why empathy and creativity are central to student-led AI initiatives
- ✅ How projects like Ask Eve show AI’s potential for social good
- ✅ Why parents and teachers need to create safe spaces for youth to explore AI
🔗 Resources & Links
- 🤝 Connect with Aasha on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aasha-khan-3a2294250/
- 🌐 Check out Youth Tech Labs: https://youthtechlabs.ca
- 🌐 Check out Gambit Changemakers: https://gambitco.io/#changemakers
- 📩 Subscribe to the Artificial Insights newsletter for key takeaways: https://manary.haus/podcast/#haus
- 👉 Have a guest in mind? Reach out to Daniel at daniel@manary.haus
🎒 Inspired by this Back to School Special? Share it with a parent, teacher, or student curious about how AI will shape the classroom and beyond.
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