China teen with zero programming skills earns US$2,600 in 3 days selling AI study app
A 13-year-old girl in China has earned 18,000 yuan (US$2,600) in just three days from an artificial intelligence (AI) product she developed to assist parents in supervising their children’s study habits. Zhu Shuhan, a Grade Two student at a junior secondary school in Shanghai, has no programming background. She began using AI only last year, as reported by the Shanghai Morning Post. At a national…
In just three days, a 13-year-old Chinese girl named Zhu Shuhan made 18,000 yuan (US$2,600) from an AI application she created to help parents monitor their children’s study habits. Zhu, a student at a junior secondary school in Shanghai, has no prior programming experience. She learned about AI only last year, but used it to generate the app’s code after describing her idea to a large language model (LLM).
Zhu took third place in the national AI product marketing competition in Hangzhou from August 21 to August 23 after her app, called Zai Chang, received 90 orders for a total of 18,000 yuan. Zai Chang works by assuming the role of a virtual parent that monitors a child’s work. It reminds the child with a voice if the child uses a mobile device or leaves their seat while doing homework.
Once the child finishes, the app creates a "concentration report." Zhu’s idea came from her own experience of being distracted by her phone while studying. “Many of my classmates face similar challenges with self-discipline,” she said. Zhu consulted AI programming tools to solve any technical issues. She decided not to include a “mother getting angry” feature in the app’s design, as she wanted the app to be gentle and allow room for improvement for children.
Her younger brother uses the app and has become more diligent in his studies. Zhu plans to lower the price of the app and expand its reach.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
