New Data: Students Know AI Will Define Their Future. Now They Need The Tools To Understand It.

Code.org becomes CodeAI to close the gap, expanding its mission from computer science into the full digital fluency students need to navigate a world reshaped by AI.

SEATTLE, June 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Three-quarters of high school students say artificial intelligence fluency will be more important in the future than it is now. The new data comes at a moment when 84% of US students report using AI, but only 16% of high school leaders say all their students are learning about AI in school.

That gap is the reason Code.org is becoming CodeAI today. The nonprofit that pioneered the Hour of Code, reached more than 150 million students across 190 countries, and was recently named one of TIME's Most Influential Education Companies of 2026, is entering its next chapter: ensuring every student has the digital fluency to thrive in a world reshaped by AI.

"AI has made the doing easy. Protecting critical thinking, and giving kids the knowledge to question this technology and decide what it's for, is the work of education now," said Karim Meghji, CEO of CodeAI. "This is the generation that will set the terms for how AI is used. Some are being taught to understand it, direct it, question it, and create with it. Most are not. That's the gap CodeAI exists to close."

New data released today by CodeAI, from a survey conducted by YouGov, shows how wide that gap has become. Seventy-five percent of high school students say the importance of AI fluency will increase more than other subjects in the future. Sixty-three percent say AI knowledge is valuable for life beyond school. Yet, just four states have created formal AI education standards, and only 14 require AI or computer science coursework for graduation. The result is a generation using technology they were never taught to understand.

The new brand reflects work already reaching millions of students around the world.  Since June 2025, more than 33 million learners have participated in the Hour of AI — the largest global learning event online hosted by CodeAI and hundreds of partners — designed to demystify AI and computer science for families and educators alike. And, more than 4.5 million students have used the organization's AI curriculum, which helps educators teach how AI works, computational thinking, data literacy, and the ethical impacts of AI — including more than 75,000 students who have already taken the newly released AI Foundations, a free high school course covering these critical topics. CodeAI has also led the development of an updated framework to guide state-level implementation of digital science policy, resulting in policies passed in all 50 states and application across the globe.

"This has always been about helping students build the knowledge that puts them in control of their future. It's been about more than producing engineers," said Hadi Partovi, founder and chairman of the board of CodeAI. "Computer science, AI science, and data science are fundamental disciplines now, the way reading and math are foundational. Whatever path a student takes — medicine, business, the arts — they will live with and work inside this technology. We owe them the knowledge to move through it with confidence." 

CodeAI has delivered more than 2 billion hours of learning, engaged 3 million teachers, and supported computer science and AI education policies in all 50 U.S. states. As CodeAI, the organization will continue to provide free curriculum, tools, and professional learning resources while expanding the depth of what it offers K-12 schools alongside founding partners: Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and The Ballmer Group.

Survey data cited in this release is drawn from a survey conducted by YouGov Plc. online among a nationally representative sample of 666 U.S. high school students between September 2025 and February 2026.

About CodeAI
CodeAI (formerly Code.org) is a nonprofit dedicated to the vision that every student in every school has the opportunity to learn about artificial intelligence and computer science as part of their core K–12 education. CodeAI is the world's largest K–12 digital sciences education platform, having reached more than 150 million students across 190 countries. Providing free curriculum to students, teachers, and schools, CodeAI has helped drive CS and AI education policies in all 50 U.S. states and co-founded TeachAI, a global coalition setting standards for AI education.

SOURCE CodeAI