People with limited coding skills can use AI tools to do this type of work—meaning more participants, more projects submitted, and a higher likelihood of discovering an idea that could transform your business.
Experimentation is a big part of developing new software or applications. For hackathon participants, the time it takes for this type of work can be a huge constraint on the quality of their final projects.
With AI, instead of plugging into one API or data source, hackathon participants have an unlimited ability to crunch data. They can check multiple data sources, generate insights, and group data almost instantly using AI.
A note for companies holding internal hackathons: Be sure to provide guardrails that will allow teams to securely experiment with AI and large language models (LLMs) without risking accidentally releasing sensitive data. (Here’s how Okta securely provided teams an AI track in its most recent internal hackathon.)
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#3 Enables participants to build higher-quality projects
The ability to crunch data more quickly is just one of the ways AI improves hackathons. AI helps speed up work for participants so they can be more ambitious with projects and ultimately build higher-quality projects.
In particular, generative AI helps participants build rapid prototypes and get a lot closer to a shippable finished product in a short period of time. AI tools can do repetitive, time-consuming tasks, freeing up participants' time for more innovative, high-value work.
A participant's creativity, rather than their ability or speed in writing code, determines the quality of hackathon projects. Essentially, AI allows participants to focus on how cool their idea is instead of getting bogged down by all the technical aspects required to build it.
#4 Simplifies the submission process for participants
As a hackathon organizer, the last thing you want is for participants to spend hours developing an amazing project just to have it fall flat in their final submission. If you’re hosting your hackathon on a platform like Devpost, the project description submissions will be crucial for you and your team during judging.