Stupid Shit & Terrible Ideas Hackathon 2024

Will there be food? Possibly. Will there be silliness? Absolutely.

This year’s theme: Our AI Overlords

Rules:

1. Please, please, PLEASE no politics.
2. Your project must be mostly assembled/created during the event (it is a hackathon, after all).
3. Your project must be inspired in some way (partially or entirely) by the result of an AI prompt (see FAQ for details).

It’s time to acknowledge that we humans no longer have a monopoly on absurd market solutions. Let’s see how our new artificial replacements have been trained on worthless consumerism.

FAQ:

What is stupid shit?

We all see it. We all hear about it. Things that shouldn’t have existed, but people try to sell anyway, because…profit? Your challenge is to make a product even more obscenely worthless. Color-coded Braille? Black highlighters? Infrared Nightlights? You get the idea.

Okay, but what about the AI thing this year?

AI will help you (or hinder you?) with your challenge. Their algorithms will serve as our inspiration. Here are examples I got when typing some prompts into ChatGPT, but I encourage you to go further and be more specific. Feel free to use visual inspiration, as well. But your project MUST draw on something that was suggested by AI.

Does it have to match exactly what the AI describes?

No. You can branch off however you want. Think of the AI as your "mandatory creative consultant." Share your prompt(s) and response(s) when you present the project for judging.

How will I be judged?

By your peers. Yes, all the teams will vote on the winners.

Seriously. You didn’t tell me how I will be judged.

Come on. Try not to take this TOO seriously, buddy. The goal is to have fun and make fun with everybody. That should be your guiding principle.

How do I sign up?

When you show up for the hackathon. Find your own team members (cynical friends, disillusioned colleagues) or ask for team members on our Discord, Google Group, or Facebook–or better yet, at an open meetup in our space! And yes, you can be a team of one.

Who is to blame for this?

Danielle Blank is officially hosting this hackathon.