Last week, I had the opportunity to be a mentor at the hackathon: It was The Big Hack 2025 – Special Edition. I helped coordinate several teams to ensure they could deliver an MVP or product concept within just two days. The only main requirement was a video with a maximum length of 4:00 minutes. Another important thing to mention is that most of the attendees were university students.

Being a mentor allowed me to see different teams and follow their way of working. In all of them, there was a constant: AI. They used AI to vibe-code MVP, video, pitch, and so on. I’m not against AI; I use it every day to help me, and it is amazing, but just like Copilot, AI is a partner, but at last, I control it, and the focus is still the code, the product.

However, I noticed that many attendees spent a lot of time trying to find the perfect prompt so the AI tool could build the product entirely. Personally, I don’t think that’s the best way to invest time. Crafting prompts is useful, but true value comes from understanding the problem, defining a clear vision, and using AI strategically to enhance the process, not replace it.

It’s not easy being a student or a junior developer today. It’s challenging to use AI as a copilot rather than as a shortcut to simply complete the task. While relying fully on AI might seem great in the short term, I’m convinced it’s not beneficial in the long run.

As developers, the try–and–fail loop is essential for real growth. Struggling with problems, debugging, and understanding why something works (or doesn’t) is what shapes strong problem solvers. AI can support that journey, but it shouldn’t replace it.

These days, I keep asking myself: how can experienced developers mentor the new generation to use AI in the right way?

AI isn’t going anywhere and that’s a good thing. But the real challenge now is helping young developers understand how to use it: not as a replacement for learning, but as a tool for exploration, creativity, and growth.

This experience reminded me that while AI can accelerate innovation, it’s still human creativity and critical thinking that drive meaningful results.