Nobody was teaching people how ChatGPT works, so a Cincinnati senior did
Students for AI Literacy started at Walnut Hills High School in 2024 and says it has reached more than 16,000 students.
When ChatGPT arrived, a lot of people started using it before anyone explained it. Samarth Khandelwal noticed the gap. “There was no one responsible for actually teaching people how to use this,” he told WCPO.
In 2024, as a Walnut Hills High School senior, he founded Students for AI Literacy (SAIL). It teaches students how AI works, how to spot AI-generated misinformation and how to use the tools safely and effectively.
Workshops, grants and a policy tailwind
WCPO reports that SAIL has reached more than 16,000 students and has 13 chapters. They sit in Ohio, Massachusetts and Texas, with international chapters in Uganda and Uzbekistan described as being established. Workshops run at Boys & Girls Club locations in West Chester and Liberty Township, as well as schools and community groups.
Funding is lean and creative. The station says the group gets about $120,000 a year in Google Ad Grant credits, has received roughly $2,900 in grants, and has a $22,000 proposal pending with the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation. Treasurer Jason Bronson Jr., also a Walnut Hills senior, handles grant applications and financial planning.
Timing helps. Khandelwal notes that Ohio was the first state to require every high school to have an AI use policy. A proposed program with Cincinnati Public Schools would serve about 150 students with research mentorship and science fairs.
Bronson put the student view plainly: “Kids today, including myself, sometimes use AI loosely.” Khandelwal’s own hope for SAIL is modest for a group with that reach. “The main hope is that the organization keeps growing.”
This profile rests on a single news report, so figures are as WCPO relayed them.
