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How an AI Project by High School Students Is Tackling Real-World Problems

BetterMind Labs
Jul 13
3 min read

Updated: Aug 19

Five high school students created Buddy Bot, an AI chatbot that supports teens dealing with social media stress.

We usually expect teenagers to scroll through social media, not build tools to combat its effects. But five 9th graders flipped that script when they created Buddy Bot, an AI chatbot designed to check in on users and spot signs of emotional burnout.

Let’s break it down.

Their classmates were stuck in what they called “scroll loops,” mindlessly cycling through TikTok, Instagram Reels, and posts without realizing how much time was flying by or how drained they felt after. The team saw the pattern and asked a question: What if a bot could help you get out of that cycle?

Buddy Bot: An AI Project by High School Students with Heart

Buddy Bot is an AI project by high school students, which reads your social posts (with permission) and looks for stress signals and language that hints at burnout, fatigue, or sadness. When it notices something off, it doesn’t send an alert or lecture. It just drops in with a short, human-like message. Think of it as a friend nudging you to breathe.

The project won the Medical Marvels Challenge, not because it used fancy algorithms, but because it tackled a very real mental health problem with care and intention.

One of the team members, Andrew Runje Dargento, put it plainly:

“We’ve all experienced firsthand these issues where we’re on our phone hours upon hours, where we should be doing more productive things.”

That’s the heart of it. The students weren’t building for a grade or resume line. They were building for each other.

AI With Heart

There’s a lot of noise about AI right now, with faster processors, bigger models, and smarter code. But Buddy Bot is a reminder that the most impactful AI doesn’t always solve technical problems. Sometimes, it solves human problems.

At BetterMind Labs, we’ve seen students bring the same emotional clarity to their work.

Like MindEase, made by Emma in our program, a quiet, thoughtful tool that supports teens through emotional lows. No notifications. No judgment. Just steady, digital companionship.

Different bots. Same goal.

Why This Matters (Especially for Parents and Educators)

We’re in a moment where high schoolers aren’t just consuming tech, they’re shaping it. But the ones who stand out aren’t the ones building for hype. They’re the ones building for people.

That’s why programs like Medical Marvels and mentorship spaces like BetterMind Labs are so powerful. They don’t just teach coding. They help students connect technology to real life, feelings, friendships, and self-awareness.

People work together on a project with tools and a machine. Text reads "Explore Student's Project at BetterMind Labs" with a button.

If you're a parent of a high schooler in the US or Canada, pay attention to these kinds of projects. They’re signals of where education is headed, and how the next generation is learning to care through code.