How Congress Taught Students to Build AI Apps in a Day
During the House recess in August, we hosted a half-day AI Bootcamp to teach more than 100 Bay Area middle and high school students how to employ AI tools in the design and launch of their apps. The AI tutorial was held at Gray Area in San Francisco and hosted in conjunction with SeedAI on August 15.
The AI Bootcamp was a huge success, attracting students from around the area eager to learn how they can solve problems and innovate using the most cutting AI development tools. This event was more than an AI workshop. It was a powerful demonstration of how Congress, industry, and community leaders can come together to inspire the next generation of civic-minded technologists.
Congressional Engagement Across the Bay
Bay Area Congressional leaders took part:
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Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi attended with her staff, addressed the students, and spent 45 minutes engaging directly with them about their projects.
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District staff from Representatives Kevin Mullin, Sam Liccardo, and Ro Khanna connected with students and showed support for AI education in their districts.
Speaker Emerita Pelosi’s message to students captured the spirit of the day:
“Keep asking questions, keep challenging, keep experimenting. You are proving that technology’s true power lies in how you choose to use it.”
Student Innovation in a Matter of Hours
In just one afternoon using AI tools, students built working prototypes addressing real-world challenges such as reducing food waste, supporting classroom learning, and monitoring harmful algal blooms. Very few had prior experience with AI programming, yet by the end of the session they were presenting thoughtful, creative solutions to issues they care about deeply.
Why The App Challenge Matters
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Policy Impact: Events like this highlight the importance of ensuring U.S. students have equitable access to emerging technologies.
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Civic Engagement: By linking students’ technical creativity to Members of Congress, the App Challenge demonstrates how technology can strengthen democracy.
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Scalable Model: The success of this pilot shows how similar initiatives can be replicated nationwide, with Members of Congress playing a key role in connecting students, industry, and community partners.
We are thankful to all of our sponsors and partners who make the Congressional App Challenge possible. A special thank you to our sponsors and partners who joined us live to support the event in San Francisco: Broadcom Foundation, Apple, theCoderSchool, Playlab, and the MIT App Inventor Foundation. With continued investment, we can expand opportunities like these to students across the country, building not just apps but the future workforce and civic leaders our nation needs