The Johns Hopkins Technology Policy Society held the university’s first AI Policy Hackathon in October. The two-day event brought together over 100 like-minded students from across the U.S. at a pivotal moment in time for AI policy, when AI technology is rapidly evolving in a fractured regulatory environment and presenting novel risks each day.
Participating students submitted over 30 technical demonstrations and policy briefings that tackled a variety of issues, from reprocessing nuclear waste to auditing agentic systems to utilizing AI to improve encryption systems in health care.
They also had the opportunity to take part in several workshops on AI and safety, the future of work, and public health, led by Monica Lopez-Gonzalez, a senior lecturer in the Department of Computer Science; Jacob Schaal, a master’s student at the London School of Economics and Political Science; and Gabriella Waters, the director of the Cognitive and Neurodiversity AI Lab at Morgan State University, respectively.
Photo courtesy of the Johns Hopkins Technology Policy Society.
Johns Hopkins Institute of Assured Autonomy Executive Director James Bellingham and Anna Broughel, a lecturer at the School of Advanced International Studies, also outlined the AI-led transformation of green energy during a panel on AI and sustainability.
Sponsored by OpenAI, Microsoft, and Apart Research, event organizers awarded $3,000 in prizes to teams who demonstrated innovative solutions; considered diversity, equity, and inclusion concerns; and proposed holistic approaches to complex topics within AI policy.