In the spring of 2025, Shopify's CEO delivered a memo that would fundamentally reshape how the company thought about talent acquisition. The message was stark and unambiguous:

"Before requesting any new hires, you must clearly demonstrate that AI cannot perform that role. Otherwise, your hiring request will not be approved."

This wasn't merely a cost-cutting measure. It was Shopify's bold declaration that they would no longer hire humans for roles that AI could efficiently replace—a radical restructuring of their workforce philosophy. Yet just months after this memo circulated throughout the company, Shopify made an announcement that seemed to contradict everything: they were expanding their internship program from 75 to 1,000 positions—a staggering 13-fold increase.

What appeared to be a complete contradiction actually revealed a sophisticated and precisely calculated strategy. Shopify wasn't looking for people who could be replaced by AI. They were hunting for a new breed of talent—individuals who could seamlessly collaborate with AI to amplify their output by 10x, even 100x. They had a special name for these extraordinary individuals: AI Centaurs.

Drawing inspiration from Greek mythology, this designation captured the essence of beings that were half-human, half-AI. These are people who instinctively reject mundane, repetitive, and inefficient work, instead embracing what could be called "productive laziness"—the healthy impulse to discover and leverage AI tools and creative shortcuts. They possess an almost supernatural ability to find better, faster ways to accomplish their goals.

A few days ago, I found myself in the heart of San Francisco's tech ecosystem at the Vibe Coding Hackathon. While this was just one of countless hackathons happening across the city, what we witnessed in that energetic space wasn't merely a technical competition—it was a living, breathing showcase of the new paradigm connecting our present to our future.

At the center of this vibrant atmosphere were two remarkable young individuals: Enes Akyüz and George Ishaq. They weren't just participants; they were students at the innovative Minerva University and, more impressively, recent winners of a YC Hackathon—an achievement that had earned them coveted interviews with top-tier investors.'

George Ishaq embodies the archetypal "computer kid" from birth. His digital journey began remarkably early—before he could even form complete sentences, he would sit on his father's lap, clearly pronouncing game titles like "GTA" and demanding to play. This intimate relationship with computers naturally evolved into programming curiosity. By age 10, he was mastering Scratch programming, delighting in moving simple game characters around the screen. By 14, he had graduated to Python, teaching himself to write his first lines of real code.

What set George apart wasn't just his early start, but his consistent drive to experiment with cutting-edge technologies rather than simply using existing tools. His enrollment at Minerva University, with its multicultural learning environment drawing students from around the globe, provided the perfect catalyst for his boundless curiosity and exploratory spirit—the foundation that shaped him into today's exceptional AI Native developer.

Enes Akyüz's story follows a different trajectory. Originally a passionate artist immersed in theater, drama, music, and visual arts, he moved from Turkey to Hong Kong after high school to explore computer science—a completely different realm from his artistic background. Life, however, had unexpected plans. A serious mountaineering accident left him with a severe spinal injury, confining him to extensive rehabilitation.'

What could have been a devastating setback became a transformative opportunity. During his lengthy recovery, spending most days in front of a computer, Enes dove deep into the world of programming. Initially a way to pass time, his artistic sensibilities gradually merged with his growing technical skills, creating a unique synergy. This unexpected period of immersion became the pivotal turning point that redirected his life entirely.

At Minerva University, Enes discovered how to perfectly harmonize his artistic background with his newly acquired technical capabilities. He particularly excelled in projects that organically combined creativity with technology, leading teams with distinctive perspectives and original ideas across various hackathon stages, achieving remarkable results.

Minerva University served as the catalyst that brought Enes and George together and enabled their exceptional teamwork. This revolutionary institution completely abandons the traditional campus concept. Instead of a fixed physical location, students rotate each semester through global cities like Seoul, Berlin, Buenos Aires, and Hyderabad, accumulating learning experiences in diverse international environments.

Classes are rigorously small-scale and reject traditional one-way lecture formats. Every student must thoroughly master pre-class materials before arriving, with actual class time devoted to in-depth discussions and immediate feedback exchanges. The evaluation system is equally innovative—rather than simple letter grades or numerical scores, grade reports include detailed, personalized assessments from professors that richly capture each student's growth process and potential.

Students develop far more than knowledge accumulation; they systematically train critical thinking, problem-solving abilities, practical execution skills, and the flexibility to quickly adapt and thrive in any environment or culture. This unique educational environment played a decisive role in shaping Enes and George into today's quintessential AI Natives, naturally developing the ability to solve problems in unconventional ways within Minerva's experimental and challenging learning framework.

At the hackathon, Enes and George demonstrated their distinctive and innovative methodology. Rather than consuming time typing code line by line like traditional developers, they strategically focused their valuable time and energy on having AI generate foundational code, then meticulously refining and creatively expanding those outputs.

The core of their approach wasn't striving to create a "perfect final product" from the first attempt, but rather implementing a "working first version" as quickly as possible, then immediately identifying improvements for continuous iteration and development.

Their demo presentation style was equally distinctive. Instead of boring explanations about complex technical details or implementation processes, they concentrated on preparing powerful "wow factors" that could instantly captivate participants and judges. When showcasing game-themed projects, they employed an effective strategy where one person clearly explained the overall concept and vision while the other performed real-time game demonstrations, vividly conveying the actual user experience and game appeal that words alone couldn't capture.

Walking through San Francisco's bustling streets, I had a serendipitous encounter with another AI Native that left a lasting impression. Yeabsira Teshome, an ambitious young entrepreneur who had traveled from Washington DC, is the founder and CEO of the innovative AI startup Praxys.AI.

Our conversation was quintessentially Silicon Valley serendipitous. While working on my laptop in the cozy atmosphere of a Capital One café, our eyes met, and he approached with a welcoming expression and a surprisingly clear first statement:

"Maybe you were in YC Hackathon!"

As our memories aligned perfectly, conversation flowed naturally, as if we were longtime friends. He immediately shared detailed insights about his current passionate development project and his unique perspective on AI technology. For Yeabsira, artificial intelligence represented far more than a tool for improving work efficiency or trendy technology—it was a powerful catalyst and companion enabling him to realize the innovative speed and creative flexibility he had always dreamed of as an entrepreneur.

As our conversation deepened, I could read both pure passion for technology and subtle emotional changes in his expression. While Yeabsira offered sincere congratulations to the two young hackathon winners, he couldn't entirely hide a hint of envy in his voice and expression—an understandable emotion. Hackathon winners receive exclusive interview opportunities with prominent investors, representing something beyond typical participant envy.

In San Francisco, the innovation capital where events like Vibe Coding hackathons occur daily, new stars can emerge from any technical competition stage at any moment. As our brief but meaningful conversation concluded, I could clearly read determined resolve and new direction in his expression, already focused on the next challenge.

Connecting all four of these stories was another crucial figure: Eric Kim, a contributor to BigC.Works magazine and co-founder of One Degree Labs. He possessed exceptional instincts for connecting technology, entrepreneurship, and people—literally serving as a bridge between generations and across borders.

With remarkable adaptability and insight, Eric perfectly performed the role of facilitator between people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives within the rapidly changing technological environment. Based on his characteristic warmth and deep technical understanding, he helped people from different generations and cultures understand each other and collaborate effectively.

While deeply understanding the innovative thinking, remarkable speed, and execution capabilities of AI Natives like Enes, George, and Yeabsira, he simultaneously respected the unique language, rhythm, values, and experiences of legacy organizations, playing the special role of smooth translator between these two worlds.

Observing these individuals revealed an important insight: AI Natives work in revolutionary ways, but they don't ignore all boundaries or reject existing values. They solve problems and explore new possibilities with remarkable speed and creativity while simultaneously demonstrating thorough focus on their assigned responsibilities and work scope.

Particularly noteworthy is their ability to flexibly adjust their working methods according to situations and contexts. When necessary, they willingly follow traditional work methods and processes, respecting the value and stability of legacy systems. In interpersonal relationships and career networking, they similarly continue actively utilizing existing platforms like LinkedIn, not overlooking the importance of traditional networking.

Therefore, the perception that AI Natives and established generations live in completely disconnected separate worlds may be a misunderstanding that doesn't properly reflect reality. In fact, we all coexist in the same time and space. However, their methods and rhythms for processing information, solving problems, and interacting with the world differ from ours, making it difficult for us to fully perceive and understand their presence and movements from our perspective.

This difference, when viewed from the perspective of diversity and complementarity rather than disconnection, reveals its true value.

What matters most is coexistence. Particularly in tech and entrepreneurship fields, legacy generations and AI Natives can not only coexist but create more powerful teams by filling each other's gaps. Legacy generations provide rich experience, business insights, and time-tested values, while AI Natives bring innovative problem-solving approaches, intuitive understanding of cutting-edge technology, and rapid execution capabilities.

This complementary relationship can be viewed not as simple generational replacement, but as a collaborative evolutionary process where two groups with different strengths grow together and achieve innovation. When diverse perspectives and capabilities harmoniously blend, we can create a more abundant future where technological innovation and human values achieve balance.

Step into San Francisco's Vibe Coding hackathon. Experience the creative energy and technological passion waves unfolding in this dynamic space, and your perspective will completely transform. The AI Natives you'll meet there aren't simply beings that can be classified with the label of "different generation," but precious colleagues who will help shape our present and future together.

They aren't a separate group isolated from us, but pioneers in the journey toward achieving new harmony between technology and humanity. Their naturally demonstrated remarkable speed, endless curiosity, and unhesitating execution power will help you understand, through just one brief conversation or collaboration experience, why we should pay attention to their thinking methods and work styles.

Through such encounters, we can see future possibilities more clearly and gain valuable insights about the direction we should move forward together. The future isn't arriving—it's already here, coding alongside us, one hackathon at a time.

BigC.Works continues to explore the intersection of human centered technology, talent, and transformation. Follow our coverage of the AI Native generation and their impact on the global innovation landscape.