SCAI Logo on a image card with stylized Hackathon 2026

SCAI Hackathon

Join us for the second annual Society-Centered AI Hackathon at Duke University, where teams will work on a topic of importance in society-centered AI. Open to members of the Duke community and the broader public.

Event Overview

Event Date & Time
Friday, February 6, 2026 (5:00 PM – 8:00 PM) Kickoff Event (Prompt Provided, Find your Team)
Saturday, February 7, 2026 (10:00 AM – 4:00 PM) Main Working Session
Saturday, February 7, 2026 (4:30 PM – 6:30 PM) Judging and Awards
Friday, February 13, 2026 (10:00 AM) Winners Present @ SCAI 2026

Challenge

Each team (2-5 participants) will create a presentation around a prompt provided at the hackathon kickoff event

Judging Criteria

Judging will be done by academic and industry experts. List of judges TBA (last year’s judges included experts from Meta, Ylab, and Ford Foundation).

  • Feasibility of implementation
  • Creative approach
  • Analysis of strengths and weaknesses

Awards

All participants will receive event swag. The first 100 registrants will receive T-shirts.

 

The winning team will have the opportunity to share their work on stage at the Conference on Society-Centered AI to hundreds of representatives from academia and industry. The winning team will also be highlighted on both the Duke SCAI website and the conference website.

Additional awards to be announced.

The SCAI Hackathon is committed to fostering diverse perspectives and inclusive discussions. We strongly encourage participation from individuals of all backgrounds and disciplines.