Frequently Asked Questions
The TED AI Open Source Hackathon is an exciting programming event that challenges you to find ways to use Generative AI to tackle social and environmental issues. You will have the opportunity to use your coding skills and collaborate with fellow developers, all in the name of good.
The hackathon is scheduled for Oct 19 and 20, 2024 at Microsoft Reactor in San Francisco, CA. This is the weekend before the TED AI conference.
Microsoft Reactor 555 California Street, Suite 200 San Francisco, CA 94104
Reception is on the 2nd floor, hackathon will be on the 3rd floor. Only confirmed participants will be permitted to access the space; access is granted via QR code. QR codes will be sent to participants 24 hours in advance of the hackathon from "Microsoft Corporation at VORNADO at 555 California St." QR codes may not be shared, and walk up QR codes will not be issued. Please message [email protected] if you are a confirmed participant and cannot locate your QR code. Please check your spam folder before messaging!
- 555 California Garage
Entrance Address: 424 Pine St
Hourly Rate: $16
Daily Rate: $35 - 550 Kearny Garage
Entrance Address: 655 Sacramento St
Hourly Rate: $15
Daily Rate: $30 - Public Transportation
BART/Muni: Montgomery Station – 0.3 miles, 5 minute walk
Caltrain – San Francisco Station – 1.5 miles, 20 minute drive
- Omni San Francisco Hotel
500 California St, San Francisco, CA 94104
4 star hotel
0.1 mile – 3 minute walk - Grant Plaza Hotel
465 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94108
2 star hotel
0.1 mile – 3 minute walk - Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco at Embarcadero
222 Sansome St, San Francisco, CA 94104
5 star hotel
0.2 mile – 4 minute walk - Stanford Hotel
905 California St, San Francisco, CA 94108
4 star hotel
0.4 mile – 8 minute walk
TBD: Application open
Sep 13: Application close
Sep 20: Teams announced
Oct 19: Hackathon start
Oct 20: Hackathon end
Register your team at https://tedai-sanfrancisco.ted.com/hackathon/. We will then evaluate their submission and let them know. The space is limited so don't wait.
This would be available to anybody who can bring a team of people and is passionate about solving societal and environmental issues using the power of AI. Technical skills will be required in some combinations across the team in roles such as: Subject matter expert, Data Scientist, Developer, Designer/Developer, among other possibilities. You don't need to be a TED AI attendee to participate in this hackathon.
There is no registration fee for the hackathon.
Teams will consist of 2 to 5 members. If you prefer to participate in a team, make sure all team members are registered for the hackathon and indicate your team’s name during the registration process.
We want to encourage on-site participation, all team members should attend live, and let the TED AI Hackathon team know if there is a mitigating circumstance.
Participants should bring their own laptops, chargers, and any other tools or software they require for coding. The hackathon organizers will provide the space, power, and Internet required for the competition.
The hackathon is technology-agnostic, meaning you are free to choose any tool, modern programming language used by AI tools, framework, or technology stack to develop your AI solution. The focus is on creativity, innovation, and the practical maintainable implementation of AI concepts.
Coming Soon
The TED AI Hackathon will span 30 hours starting at 10am on Oct 19, 2023 and ending at 4pm on Oct 20, 2023.
We will provide space, power, and Internet connectivity for the hackathon. There will be some limited mentoring and technical support available. Your team should have all the skills to troubleshoot any technical issues otherwise.
The judging criteria for the hackathon will consider factors such as innovation, technical complexity, practicality, user experience, and the overall quality of the AI solution developed during the hackathon. We will share the rubric that will be used by judges to evaluate participation. This will be shared closer to the hackathon date.
More details about cloud access will be provided closer to the hackathon date.
Coming Soon
The hackathon is only intended for registered participants.
No, we do not have resources to help with travel costs or other forms of travel support.
No, we do not have resources to help with acquiring a visa.
To stay updated on hackathon announcements, make sure to regularly check the official TED AI conference website, follow the TED AI social media accounts, and subscribe to the TED AI newsletter.
If you have any further questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to reach out to the hackathon core team using [email protected].
Data should come from public sources with Creative Commons or permissive licenses or cited according to the data creator’s/publisher’s guidance. The data used in the hackathon must be accessible to a global audience.
LF AI & Data Foundation has created a GitHub organization. We recommend all participants publish their source code as a repo to this organization. The code must use an OSI-approved license.
Send us an email at [email protected].