Code.org is rebranding as CodeAI, solidifying its shift to AI education
The rise of AI has been changing the focus of Code.org for the past two years. On Tuesday, the Seattle-based computer science academy accepted the change and renamed itself CodeAI.
“In the past, computer science was very focused,” co-founder Hadi Partovi said in a video message. “Today, the focus is on AI – learning how AI works, learning to create technology, learning to solve problems using AI, and most importantly, learning to be a responsible citizen in the age of AI.”
Founded in 2013 by twin brothers Hadi and Ali Partovi, Code.org’s mission has always been to increase computer education for K-12 students. Funded by nearly $60 million in funding from Microsoft, Amazon, Google and The Ballmer Group, the platform today counts 150 million students and 3 million teachers, with 232 million student-created projects worldwide.
Karim Meghji, who took over as president and CEO in February, is leading CodeAI’s new mission.
“AI has made it easier to do. Protecting critical thinking, and giving children the knowledge to question this technology and decide what it is for, is an educational task now,” Meghji said in a news release. “This is the generation that will set the standards for how AI is used. Some are taught to understand it, direct it, question it, and create with it. Most don’t. That’s the gap CodeAI exists to fill.”
Meghji joined Code.org in 2022 to serve as chief product officer, leading a shift to an AI-focused strategy at the organization. The vet previously spent 10 years at RealNetworks and is the former CTO at Seattle digital remittance company Remitly.
The CodeAI rebrand is already in the works, with the transition from Hour of Code to Hour of AI – an online learning event that has reached 33 million readers. More than 75,000 students have taken the newly released AI Foundations, a free high school course that covers how AI works, computational thinking, data literacy, and the behavioral implications of AI.
CodeAI also led the development of a revised framework to guide the implementation of digital science policy at the federal level, leading to processes being passed in all 50 states and working globally.
According to new survey data released Tuesday by CodeAI, 75% of high school students believe that fluency in AI will be more important than other subjects in the future, and 63% say it is directly related to their readiness for life outside of school.
Furthermore, while 84% of students are already using AI, only 16% of high school leaders say that all of their students are actually learning about it in school, CodeAI said.
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Meghji previously spoke to GeekWire about wanting to move students beyond simply using AI as a tool.
“AI is a black box for most people in the world today. You put in fast, you get something back,” he said earlier this year. “Our opinion is that it must be a glass box, and we need to give them a screwdriver and a hammer and let them get in there and get this thing out.”
Partovi has served as chairman of the board for the past two years. The former Microsoft executive, who was an early investor in companies including Facebook, DropBox, Airbnb and Uber, argued that the challenges are beyond the engineers of the future.
“No one knows the jobs of the future, but it’s a safe bet that every job will involve AI,” he said. “We have a responsibility to prepare the next generation for the biggest change in society since the establishment of public education.”
