Gao Yongkai, a participant in the 2026 Acceleration Week for Global Youth Development Programs, comes across as somewhat reserved. Yet his eyes light up the moment he talks about AI-powered education.

Back in 2021, when he was still a junior university student, he created a campus collaborative document for his fellow students to share waitingline times and printshop locations. This simple act of kindness drew media coverage and convinced him that technology can deliver tangible help to people in need.

He later brought this conviction to rural communities. In classrooms across Shaoguan, Yunfu and Heyuan in Guangdong Province, he and his team observed that rural children are full of curiosity — what they lack is the courage to speak up.

They then built a “RoleModel Library”, featuring historical figures, ordinary people with extraordinary life stories, and contemporary role models. Children can ask questions and write letters to these rolemodels, and the AI responds based on its knowledge base: “Many people have gone through the same confusion as you.”

The changes are tangible. Children who would keep their heads down and avoid eye contact at the very beginning began to step onto podiums to share their thoughts after only a few classes.

“Genuine tech for good is not about fancy computing showcases. It means bringing technology to grassroots communities. Enlightenment starts not with hardware devices, but with giving children a voice.” In June this year, his project “LightArk AI: Cloud-Edge Bookstore” was sselected as Excellence Program of the Action Plan for Global Youth Development 2026.

At a time when many are chasing computing power and technical parameters, this young Chinese man offers an alternative perspective: Beyond Computing power, technology holds another kind of romance — to light a lamp for children living far away.