AI Tinkerers hosted a successful hackathon in Seattle that showcased the potential for AI systems to work alongside humans in various applications. The event, titled “Humans-in-the-Loop,” saw 80 participants collaborating to come up with innovative ideas for combining humans and machines. Engineers from major tech companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, as well as others from across the country, attended the event at the new Foundation space in Capitol Hill. Support for the hackathon was provided by companies such as Anthropic and CopilotKit.
The top prize at the hackathon went to MetabolixAI, a personalized nutrition application that uses AI to analyze individual dietary needs by reading data from glucose meters and meal images. The system then generates tailored nutritional advice and analyzes glucose responses, incorporating general preferences as well. The runner-up prize was awarded to the AI DevRel Project, which scans online forums for developer tool product inquiries and crafts appropriate responses. This project aims to enhance developer relations efforts by identifying relevant discussions and maintaining a level of quality control through human oversight.
LeadScore, the recipient of the community pick prize, utilizes AI to score inbound business leads with human assistance to fine-tune the system’s assessment based on a company’s parameters. In addition to these winning projects, a multiplayer game created by Seattle techies also caught attention, challenging players to build factions using one-on-one conversations with AI agents. The teams behind these projects collectively took home nearly $15,000 in prize money, demonstrating the diverse applications of AI in different settings.
Founder Joe Heitzeberg highlighted the hackathon’s success in attracting engineers and companies from across the country, including San Francisco-based Anthropic, a rival of OpenAI backed by Amazon. AI Tinkerers, originally established as a meetup group for technical builders in Seattle two years ago, has now expanded its reach to host events in several cities worldwide, including meetups, hackathons, and other activities. The event provided a platform for tech professionals to collaborate and innovate, showcasing the potential for AI systems to work in tandem with humans effectively in various personal and professional capacities.
