AI Hackathon London 2024 — Winners & Summary

Our first-ever AI Hackathon was hosted from the 8–10th of March at the beautiful Canary Wharf WeWork. The event brought together a variety of leading tech organisations, including Stability.ai, ICP, and NORD Security, amongst others!

All levels of professionals attended the event & competed for an incredible prize pool of over $41,500 in cash, tech gear, subscriptions, credits and exclusive merch.

As part of the hackathon, participants were provided with technical & non-technical workshops, personalised mentorship, and networking opportunities with industry leaders. The event was a fantastic platform for those interested in AI to learn, innovate, and showcase their skills to other individuals in the industry!

Winners

Overall Winners

🥇 Sign-Chan — Airpods and AirTags

The Sign-Chan is an innovative application that bridges the gap between spoken language and sign language communication. The project utilizes speech-to-text and sign language video data to create a dynamic and interactive system. It aims to enhance accessibility and communication for individuals who use sign language by converting spoken words into sign language gestures.​

🥈 EduAction — Drones

It is an AI-powered application designed to output customizable educational content, quizzes, and interactive modules from a simple YouTube link input. The main objective of this project is to enhance engagement for educators, students, and self-learners. By leveraging the power of artificial intelligence, EduAction aims to add to the way educational content is created and consumed, providing a more interactive and personalized learning experience.

🥉 RAGnarok — Keyboard and Mice

RAGnarok is an automated test suite for AI chatbots. Customer-facing chatbots are risky because they can hallucinate, are suspect to manipulation, and are fundamentally unpredictable. There is often a long tail of edge cases that need to be solved before the application is production-ready. Against this, RAGnarok provides an automated testing and evaluation framework for AI-powered applications that serves three functions:
- Generates test cases against ‘jobs to be done’ defined by the business user
- Evaluates and scores the model’s performance against these test cases through a three-round conversation
- Provides insights for improving the chat application

👉 The Overall Winners also took home a year-long subscription to Nord Security Packages and a Cocoa VC prize bundle!

SuperteamUK with a Solana bounty: AI Solutions for Emerging Tech Industries

Applicants were encouraged to build a project related to a select list of emerging tech industries.

🥇 SolanAIzer — $2000

SolanAIzer is the next generation of smart contract vulnerability scanning using AI, designed specifically to integrate quickly into your Solana project. It is an infrastructure that automatically audits your smart contracts for potential bugs and exploits and stops you from deploying these to production. When a single mistake can cost your project years of work and millions of pounds, SolanAIzer is another tool in your arsenal to protect your customers.

🥈Do More — $1000

Do More is an innovative social media platform with a crossover between generative AI and cryptocurrency. It is designed to inspire creativity, foster community engagement, and reward content creators. Through DoMore users receive daily, weekly and monthly prompts generated by advanced AI algorithms, sparking inspiration and guiding content creation. Users may contribute by sharing one picture per prompt, showcasing their unique perspectives and creative talents. The more likes their posts receive, the more tokens they earn, which can be converted into Salona cryptocurrency.

🥉 SolEye — $500

SolEye uses a Chrome extension and transformer models to rate internet safety, analyzing URLs, content, and code to warn users of risks via colour-coded banners. Websites are stored on a blockchain-based whitelist or blacklist, speeding up future checks. Users can vote to reclassify websites, with voting costs based on the site’s safety rating and tokens used in voting influencing the vote’s duration. Tokens are distributed across the community, R&D, marketing, and the team to ensure system integrity. Future improvements include refining the model with vote outcomes to better align with community judgments, and enhancing its predictive accuracy.

🥉 Reputy.io — $500

Reputy.io offers a streamlined CV creation tool that includes hobbies and interests alongside professional achievements. It features social media integration for career development, automatic skill highlighting for a complete skills representation, and strict control over privacy with content review before publication. Users receive tailored recommendations to optimize their online presence for career goals. The platform includes an easy installation guide for quick setup.

🥉 Contra — $500

AI assistant and education Web3 observability app focused on the Solana blockchain.

Internet Computer: Decentralised AI with Internet Computer

Participants were encouraged to build an AI-related project built on the Internet Computer Protocol.

🥇 SpotLabs — $10000

SpotLabs is a DeAI platform that equips businesses with a simple interface for managing secure infrastructure, offering a suite of tools and an expanding ecosystem of plugins known as “Spots”. These Spots enable storage and AI-powered manipulation of encrypted company data and is accessible to all organisation members regardless of technical skill.

🥈 Highfeast Explorer — $5000

The Highfeast Explorer is a LLM-powered platform designed to assist in planning menus, estimating food quantities and costs, and offering cooking assistance for various events. Leveraging decentralised storage and datasets from over 23 years of traditional catering services, it provides intuitive and personalised food planning solutions.

Virtual Protocol: Best AI Use Case for Gaming, Social, or Digital Entertainment

Hackers were invited to develop a generative AI solution that offers a compelling new experience or solves an existing problem in the fields of Gaming, Social, or Digital Entertainment.

🥇 Elementary — $3000

The team has developed a Sherlock-inspired puzzle game that offers a unique, dynamic experience every playthrough, leveraging GPT-3.5, GPT-4, and Prolog to ensure a structured and engaging world. By utilizing Stability AI for character generation and advanced prompt engineering, the game dynamically creates character images and backgrounds based on user interactions. The integration of Prolog enhances logic and prevents AI-generated content from deviating from the game’s logic. This lightweight, innovative approach positions the game as a potential market disruptor in generative gaming.

🥈 XonT — $1000

XonT is designed for game developers to create 3D model assets. Users input text prompts on the website, with an optional style image, to describe the desired assets. Stable Diffusion XL, from Stability AI, then produces a 2D asset representation. If no style image is provided, the system offers suggestions, allowing users to refine their prompts.

🥈 Echo — $1000

Echo is an interesting interactive app that not only makes experience what it’s like to be famous but also has an audience to cheer you up, motivate you or maybe just be there to listen.

👉 Winners were given the chance to be considered for a Virtual Protocol ecosystem grant of up to $200k.

Healthily: Matching Patients with Services using Healthily

Participants were encouraged to use the Healthily DOT platform API to match users with appropriate services based on their symptoms.

Winners:

🏅 ReferralAI
🏅 Mind the gap
🏅 CareConnect
🏅 Meet Lily, your Health Detective
🏅 Using Social Media Design Practices Healthily

👉 Winners received Healthily lifetime subscriptions!

PL Architect (Protocol Labs): Most Promising AI x Crypto Build

PL Architect awarded submitted projects with the potential to turn into a startup!

🥇 ECHO — $3000

At its heart, ECHO seeks to revolutionize the way we interact with social media. By leveraging AI, we are able to provide users with a personalized feed that is tailored to their interests and to connect them with others who share similar interests. Making Social Media purposeful again.

🥈 Matrix AI — $2000

Matrix AI is a revolutionary new social network that enables creators, brands and universities to create hyper-personal AI experiences inside a social media app that allows users and brands to freely monetise their content and AI experiences.

🏅 AI Adventure World — $1000

AI Adventure World is an innovative text-based gaming platform that invites users to step into a realm of limitless creativity and exploration. In this unique gaming experience, players have the power to craft their own AI-driven text-based adventures or immerse themselves in thrilling journeys meticulously crafted by a vibrant community.

Stability AI: Best use of Stability AI

Stability AI requested that individuals use their creativity and innovation to build something on their platform.

🏅 PromptIT — 1 year of Stability AI membership & 20,000 Stability AI API credits

PromptIT is an innovative game that combines the power of AI-generated images with human creativity and ingenuity. The game revolves around players taking turns describing images generated by Stability AI’s Stable Diffusion Model. These descriptions are then used to generate new images, which are passed onto the next player for further description. Each round, the descriptions are evaluated by a Perplexity AI, considering factors like accuracy, creativity and detail.

Cambridge University AI Ethics Society: Low Code: Algorithmic Bias in ML Models

Participants had to identify biases in a Harry Potter-influenced annual income prediction dataset.

🥇 Gringotts Loan Biases

🥈Actual Algorithmic Bias in ML Models

🥉 w Code: Algorithmic Bias in ML Models

👉 Prize: Limited edition AI Hack t-shirts

Speakers, Judges and Mentors

Speakers

• Arun PM, Elna Live
• Jordan Last, Demergent Labs
• Harry Grieve, Gensyn
• Alva Markelius, Cambridge University AI Ethics Society (also a mentor)
• Rafael Kollyfas, Cambridge University AI Ethics Society (also a mentor)
• Stas Chistyakov, London Stock Exchange Group
• Arjun Perumalla, Fuse
• Didar Gelici, Just Eat
• Harshit Mehta, MongoDB
• Laurence Kirk, Extropy.io
• Matthew Tang, Virtual Protocol
• Vasilis Mavroudis, AI UK — The Alan Turing Institute
• David Vinagre Solans, Santander UK
• Monique Grinstein, the LEGO Group
• Jaisal Kapoor, Faculty AI
• Yan Bo, Filecoin Foundation

Judges

• Ishan Misra, Facebook AI Research
• Gökhan Er, IOSG Ventures
• Eliot Frazier, AI for Good Foundation
• Stanislav Sirakov, LAUNCHub Ventures
• Abdul Salam, Stability AI (also a mentor)
• Adnan Salehin, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (also a mentor)
• Ella Hughes, Mercuri
• Laurentiu Ionele, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
• Lilly Reppin, Faculty

Mentors

• Jyoti Yadav, Blockchain.com
• Jimmy Ye, OKX
• Jonathon Carr-Brown, Healthily
• Riya Chikkara, London School of Economics
• Zachary Scott, LMAX Group
• Ilyas Bakbergenuly, LMAX Group
• Edoardo Pona, King’s College London
• Alex Cheema, HomeDAO
• Anushka Kulkarni, Thought Machine
• Pablo De Remedios, Cocoa

Community Partners

• Warwick AI Society
• Exeter Fintech Society
• Cambridge University AI Ethics Society
• Bristol GDSC
• Bristol Blockchain Society
• QMUL Fintech Society
• St. Andrew’s GDSC
• KCL Fintech Society
• Southampton Decentralised Society
• KCL Blockchain Society
• LSE Data Science Society
• UCL Guild
• Imperial GDSC
• UCL Entrepreneurs
• UCL Technology Society
• Southampton AI Society
• KCL Science and Innovation Club
• QMUL Robotics and AI Society
• UCL AI Society
• Surrey Blockchain Society
• KCL GDSC
• UCL Computer Science Society
• Leeds GDSC
• Imperial Blockchain Group
• Cambridge Blockchain Society

Schedule

Day 1 — Kicking off

The first day of the AI Hackathon showcased a dynamic exploration of AI’s future, from the pioneering developments of the Internet Computer and ELNA to the transformative potential of Stability AI. Highlights included a deep dive into AI for cybersecurity, innovative approaches to AI in gaming, and practical strategies for AI application development. The sessions, culminating in a visionary keynote on computational liberty, painted a comprehensive picture of AI’s evolving landscape, sparking inspiration and setting a vibrant tone for the hackathon.

Workshops

• Intro to ICP & ELNA, Jordan Last (Demergent Labs) & Arun PM (Elna)
• Open Data Economy x AI with Filecoin & Protocol Labs Network, Yan Bo (Filecoin Foundation)
• Intro to Stability AI, Tom Mason (Stability AI)
• AI for Cyberdefence: Bridging the Reality Gap, Vasilios Mavroudis (AI UK — The Alan Turing Institute)
• Keynote: The State of AI and the Promise of Computational Liberty, Harry Grieve (Gensyn)
• Co-owned, Human-Curated AIs for Gaming: Matthew Tang (Virtual Protocol)
• Accelerate AI Application Development with MongoDB Atlas and Atlas Vector Search: A Primer, Harshit Mehta (MongoDB)

Day 2 — In the thick of it

Day two of the AI Hackathon illuminated the intersection of AI innovation and ethics, covering topics from ChatGPT adoption to AI in life sciences and banking. Speakers discussed the nuances of explainable AI, the storytelling in business, and the importance of privacy in machine learning. Ethical AI use, the power of generative AI in retail, and strategies for tech growth offered actionable insights. The day was rich with discussions on leveraging AI for ethical, innovative, and practical solutions across various industries, emphasizing the technology’s growing influence and potential.

Workshops

• ChatGPT Adoption Methodology, Iliya Valchanov (TeamGPT)
• Explainable AI in Lending, Arjun Perumalla (Fuse)
• From Potential to Practice — Delivering AI Solutions in Life Sciences, Jaisal Kapoor (Faculty AI)
• Pitch Perfect: Crafting Success Through Storytelling, Monique Grinstein (The LEGO Group)
• Generative AI’s Impact in Banking: Opportunities and Challenges, David Vinagre Solans (Santander)
• Beyond ChatGPT: Empowering Industry with AI Agents & Web3 Tools, Maria Minaricova (Fetch.AI)
• An AI Ethics Approach to Identifying Algorithmic Bias, Rafael Kollyfas & Alva Markelius (CuAI Ethics)
• Fireside Chat with Didar Gelici, Didar Gelici (Just Eat)
• Ideation, Funding, and Growth in Tech, Bryony Disbury (VDK Capital)
• Synthetic Image Recognition: How GenAI is Transforming the Retail Space, Patric Fulop (Neurolabs)
• A Practical Guide to the Current State of Large Language Models, Stas Chistyakov (London Stock Exchange GRoup)
• Add Privacy to Machine Learning with zkML: Laurence Kirk (Extropy.io)

Day 3 — Finale

The final day of the AI Hackathon was a culmination of hard work and creativity, marked by an impressive array of project submissions from participants. The morning buzzed with anticipation as teams put the finishing touches on their projects before the submission deadline. The afternoon judging session highlighted the exceptional talent and ingenuity within the hackathon, leading up to a thrilling finale where the top projects were celebrated and awarded. The day concluded with a heartfelt closing ceremony, drawing the event to a close as the doors closed on an unforgettable experience.

Picture Gallery

About Encode Club

Encode Club is a global community of top developers, professionals and talented students in Emerging Tech. Through leading educational programmes such as hackathons, bootcamps and accelerators we help you advance your career and work with transformative companies. Read more here.

Questions

If you have any questions, please email hack@encode.club or reach out on Discord.

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