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📅 Spring 2026  ·  Virtual

AEA/MTI Hackathon 2

A virtual hackathon for evaluation practitioners exploring how AI tools can strengthen — and sometimes strain — our work. Pick a path, spend 10–30 minutes, and share what you discover.

Choose your path See the gallery

About

What is this?

The AEA/MTI Hackathon 2 is a low-barrier, fully virtual event designed for evaluation practitioners at every level. No coding background required — just 30 minutes (or less), a free AI tool, and a willingness to engage critically or creatively.

There are three paths to choose from:

  • Critique — Pick an AI claim or output and put it under the evaluator's microscope. You'll practice applying evaluation standards to AI-generated content and document what holds up, what doesn't, and why.
  • Create — Build something useful. Design a prompt, configure a simple chatbot, or vibe-code a tiny tool for your evaluation workflow. You'll leave with a working artifact and a clearer sense of what AI can (and can't) do for your practice.
  • Collab — Start from a community template, improve it for your context, and publish your remix. You'll contribute to a growing library of practitioner-built resources and document your reasoning for others to learn from.

There are five $100 lottery tickets up for grabs for those who submit an entry. See full lottery eligibility & rules →

This event is co-hosted by the American Evaluation Association (AEA) and The MERL Tech Initiative, and is part of an ongoing community effort to think critically and creatively about AI in the evaluation field.

How it works

  1. Visit
    Come to this page — you're already here.
  2. Pick
    Choose one of three paths: Critique, Create, or Collab.
  3. Work
    Do the activity. Takes 10–30 minutes with a free AI tool.
  4. Submit
    Fill in a short form with your work and a 140-char reflection.
  5. Gallery
    Your entry appears live in the public gallery for all to see.

Participants may submit up to three entries across any combination of paths — each counts as a separate lottery entry. See full lottery eligibility & rules →

Three paths, one community

Choose your path

Each path is a self-contained activity. Pick the one that fits your time, interests, and energy.

Critique

Examine AI claims and outputs with an evaluator's eye

10–20 minutes
Explore Critique →

Create

Build a practical AI tool or prompt for evaluation work

15–30 minutes
  • Prompt Lab
  • Custom Chatbot: Build a Tiny Helper
  • Vibe-Coding Studio
Explore Create →

Collab

Improve a shared template and publish your remix

15–25 minutes
  • Craft a Remix
  • Browse starter templates
  • Document what you changed and why
Explore Collab →

Hot Take Wall

See what evaluation practitioners are saying about AI — then drop your own take if you're inspired.

See the wall →