Replit CEO Amjad Masad on What Young People Should Learn in the AI Era

Video summary

Replit CEO Amjad Masad argues college should reward curiosity over grades, while AI reshapes learning and companies.

Replit CEO Amjad Masad tells Erik Torenberg and Gagan Biyani that young people’s value lies in questioning accepted beliefs, not simply learning how to fit in. Drawing on the science-fiction novel The City and the Stars, he argues that colleges should make room for experimentation, unconventional “side quests,” and project-based learning. He recalls Steve Jobs taking calligraphy before its ideas later shaped Mac typography, and says students should have freedom to build with tools such as Python and AI rather than follow rigid curricula. The conversation also warns against pressuring teenagers to raise startup money before they know what they want to pursue; Masad favors time to explore. He describes how Replit is changing as AI agents enable a potential “self-driving company,” and argues that students need trust, room to fail, ethical grounding, and interpersonal skills. The young people who impress him pursue a subject deeply, show persistence, and remain respectful.

Chapters

1. 0:00Intro: Young People as Heretics and an Academy Without Grades
2. 1:04The City and the Stars: AGI, a Glitch, and Young People Challenging Assumptions
3. 5:36Designing an Ideal College Experience: Jobs’s Calligraphy and Support for Student Projects
4. 11:20Why Curiosity-Driven Learning Works: Basketball Analytics and AI-Assisted Python Projects
5. 14:46The Counter-Critique: Two Years to Explore Before Premature Startup Funding
6. 19:40The Entrepreneur and the Intellectual: Chess Experiments, Replit Agent, and Machine Learning
7. 24:02Learning to Follow vs. Learning to Lead: AI Agents, Self-Driving Companies, and Collaboration
8. 27:14Learning to Follow vs Learning to Lead: Replit’s Past, Coding, and Trusting Students
9. 32:48Learning to Follow vs Learning to Lead: Roblox Hacking, Cybersecurity, and Learning Through Failure
10. 36:38Beyond Skills: How the Academy Can Build Good People, Trust, and Evolving Principles
11. 44:02What Amjad Looks for in Young Talent: Deep Projects, Curiosity, and Authentic People Skills