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On the contrary, I think software hackathons could really hit a golden age where we see how far people can push the limits of what we ever thought possible with

On the contrary, I think software hackathons could really hit a golden age where we see how far people can push the limits of what we ever thought possible within 24 hours or a weekend through the use of AI. Less “pretty UI with mock data” and more fully working products ready for the consumer market.

smaudet 4mo ago
I don't think you understand the goal of a hackathon. They aren't (or weren't) VC pitch sessions. You don't run marathons to be usane bolt, you don't go to hackathons to land VC deals. 24 hours of non stop AI usage doesn't sound fun. It sounds hateful and demotivating, you want to discover yourself, and maybe some other people, not what a robot can do.
- kusokurae 4mo ago
  The problem is my friend you're right but people who tend to browse this website are no longer engineers who would also understand this; it's mostly HR, Managerial staff, and jaded engineers who never enjoyed implementation details, and who are presently trying to convince everyone else implementation details are no longer of relevance.
  - fluffybucktsnek 4mo ago
    I see this being thrown sometimes, but, honestly, it feels like a "HN is becoming reddit" situation. Would be interesting to see a study or a review of recent comments to confirm if that's really true.
- fluffybucktsnek 4mo ago
  I think it's you who has a very narrow vision of what a hackathon can be. Hackathons can both be about developing your programming skills or coming up with, then presenting new and interesting ideas. In a sense, the latter is kind of about "landing VC deals", but replace VC with possibly a different audience. I think this narrowness of mindset is more notable in the last paragraph: "...you want to discover yourself, and maybe some other people, not what a robot can do." In my perspective, what I think OP is saying, and I can personally see, is not about what a robot can do (at least no more than when experimenting with a different language/framework/library/etc.), but how far can you shape and accomplish your idea into reality using AI.
- s4i 4mo ago
  I've found most hackathons not personally fulfilling because you can only get small stuff done and finalize maybe a happy path or two, accompanied by some rushed slides, before you run out of time. The AI really changes this and you can actually deeply exhaust an idea.
- deadbabe 4mo ago
  In the end you will just be doing stuff with a robot anyway.
esikich 4mo ago
It's just gatekeeping. It should make them super cool. "Well you have to have good ideas and skills to do anything with AI or it's just slop!" Ok, then it sounds like nothing changed.
hard_times 4mo ago
Ah yes, the eternal truth of "looks matter". It translates to almost everything imaginable, not just people's appearance.

smaudet 4mo ago

I don't think you understand the goal of a hackathon. They aren't (or weren't) VC pitch sessions. You don't run marathons to be usane bolt, you don't go to hackathons to land VC deals. 24 hours of non stop AI usage doesn't sound fun. It sounds hateful and demotivating, you want to discover yourself, and maybe some other people, not what a robot can do.

kusokurae 4mo ago
The problem is my friend you're right but people who tend to browse this website are no longer engineers who would also understand this; it's mostly HR, Managerial staff, and jaded engineers who never enjoyed implementation details, and who are presently trying to convince everyone else implementation details are no longer of relevance.
- fluffybucktsnek 4mo ago
  I see this being thrown sometimes, but, honestly, it feels like a "HN is becoming reddit" situation. Would be interesting to see a study or a review of recent comments to confirm if that's really true.
fluffybucktsnek 4mo ago
I think it's you who has a very narrow vision of what a hackathon can be. Hackathons can both be about developing your programming skills or coming up with, then presenting new and interesting ideas. In a sense, the latter is kind of about "landing VC deals", but replace VC with possibly a different audience. I think this narrowness of mindset is more notable in the last paragraph: "...you want to discover yourself, and maybe some other people, not what a robot can do." In my perspective, what I think OP is saying, and I can personally see, is not about what a robot can do (at least no more than when experimenting with a different language/framework/library/etc.), but how far can you shape and accomplish your idea into reality using AI.
s4i 4mo ago
I've found most hackathons not personally fulfilling because you can only get small stuff done and finalize maybe a happy path or two, accompanied by some rushed slides, before you run out of time. The AI really changes this and you can actually deeply exhaust an idea.
deadbabe 4mo ago
In the end you will just be doing stuff with a robot anyway.

esikich 4mo ago

It's just gatekeeping. It should make them super cool. "Well you have to have good ideas and skills to do anything with AI or it's just slop!" Ok, then it sounds like nothing changed.

hard_times 4mo ago

Ah yes, the eternal truth of "looks matter". It translates to almost everything imaginable, not just people's appearance.