AI Hackathon tutorial: Step one - how to prepare for the AI Hackathon

What is an AI Hackathon?

An AI hackathon is a gathering where participants work together on a project in order to develop a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool or application. Participants frequently have only a short window of time—usually a few days—to develop their concepts and present them to a jury. These competitions can be narrowly focused on a particular issue, such as healthcare, money, or the environment, or they can be open-ended, allowing teams to develop original solutions to any issue.

The hackathon aims to develop novel approaches to challenges and produce something that has never been done before. Teams compete to be recognized for their efforts, receive awards, and have their work published in trade journals. Working together in a hackathon setting also encourages networking and idea sharing, which may result in further partnerships and professional opportunities.

Can I join?

Everyone is welcome to join - doesn’t matter your fields of expertise or experience. As the market is rapidly growing, we need all hands on deck!

I am experienced user, who knows what AI is

If you are familiar with AI, you can participate in an AI hackathon. An AI hackathon's main objective is to use artificial intelligence to develop original solutions. They may concentrate on certain AI technologies, such machine learning or natural language processing, or they may be more generic, depending on the hackathon. A challenge, which is often presented by the hackathon organizers, will be the focus of teams of participants' work. Teams may compete for awards and recognition while also getting advice and criticism from mentors.

I am a newbie, but I want to start

Yes, you can participate in an AI Hackathon without having any prior knowledge in AI. Mentors are frequently present during hackathons to assist participants who are new to AI. A lot of hackathons will also offer tools and lessons to assist you catch up on AI. Additionally, you might be able to join a team that already has AI experts on it. This will allow you to pick up knowledge while you work on the task. Furthermore, many AI hackathons offer tasks that don't necessitate a thorough knowledge of AI, allowing everyone to take part.

I saw an ad or saw a post on the feed - what now?

Well if we’re talking about lablab.ai AI Hackathons, just go to our list of AI Hackathons and… enroll. It’s that easy! And it’s also free. So basically you will work for a couple of days on a project (with assistance of mentors), improve your skills and after a short period of time will have a working prototype to show to investors to launch your startup. Yeah, this journey starts with the “enroll button”.

So, how to get prepared?

You must educate yourself on the technology you will employ in order to succeed in an AI Hackathon. In other words, you need to understand what this generative AI does. You need to search for knowledge about it and see what you can construct with it. One does voice recognition better than the other, while one performs text-to-text generation differently. Knowing what you can accomplish and what others have done in previous AI Hackathons is crucial.

Read everything on the website of the tool's makers. Just arm yourself with as much information as you can. You may not know the answer to every question, but at least you will understand where it came from - and that’s a great place to start.

Also you can see our tech page, where you will also find AI tutorials, ChatGPT api and many, many more showcases to learn from.

I know everything about tech, what now?

The hardest thing now is that you know what each tool does and want to use it to develop a solution to revolutionize the world and launch a million dollar firm, but what should my app do? Well, as the saying goes, "Greatness from small beginnings”, so just take your time and reflect.

Did you have the thought, "Wow, in my line of work, I would love to have a tool using this to (insert solution here)" as you were learning about technology? Or perhaps, when you learned more about the technology, you discovered knowledge about people who are unable to perform X because such a tool does not exist? Or perhaps you could try to explain the technology to your friend (so that you will be more knowledgeable as you do so), and perhaps he will have a problem that you can help him with?

Consider a problem, then come up with a solution. Don't create "the greatest app to change the world," by which I mean, go ahead and do it, but it must have a reason. Concentrate on it, and I guarantee you'll discover people who either know how to repair it or who can work with you to fix it when you come up with a list of problems (or a list with just one problem is wonderful too).

Consider a situation that is typical and to which many people can relate. Think creatively and unconventionally to develop a solution that has the potential to revolutionize the world.

That’s everything you need to know before the Hackathon starts!

In the next article we will write about how to work in a group and how to get through an AI Hackathon, but that’s enough for today. We wish you all the best luck and the greatest app to be created during the events!

Ok, one last tip (for more advanced ones)

In order to use the technology more successfully and efficiently during the AI Hackathon, you can also get some practice using it beforehand. If you know the problem and the tool, you can create a plan and goals for the tasks you wish to complete. Don't be scared to collaborate with other participants or to ask questions. Last but not least, be sure to obtain enough sleep and eat a nutritious diet to give yourself the energy you need to remain concentrated and productive throughout the tournament.