Pitt Cyber partners with The Grefenstette Center for Ethics in Science, Technology, and Law at Duquesne University, The Sara Fine Institute at Pitt’s School of Computing and Information, The Collaboratory Against Hate at Pitt and Carnegie Mellon University, and The Center for Informed Democracy and Social-cybersecurity Research Group at Carnegie Mellon University to host Hacking4Humanity to identify new tech and policy solutions to mitigate online hate and create safer communities.
Pitt Cyber launched Hacking4Humanity in 2019 to bring student innovation and energy to seemingly intractable problems. We wanted to expand the notion of a hackathon, recognizing that tech “solutions” in isolation of social context often lead nowhere or have unintended consequences. Hacking4Humanity encourages multidisciplinary collaboration, submissions including and beyond tech, and an emphasis on ethical considerations.
Starting in 2023, this collaboration brings Pitt, Duquesne and CMU students together in a hybrid tech and policy hackathon to combat online hate.
About the Hackathon
Undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled at Pitt, Carnegie Mellon University, and Duquesne University are eligible to participate. Students compete in teams of 1-4 people in either a tech or policy track.
No hackathon experience or tech background is necessary. Come with a team or meet potential teammates via the registration process.
For more information on the 2023 Online Hate hackathon and what to expect for 2024, click here.
2023 Finalists
Policy Track
| First Place | Runner Up |
|---|---|
| Project Title: “Protecting Victims of Hateful, Non-consensual Deepfake Pornography (NDP" | Project Title: "Tackling Online Hate with Hate Hygiene Index" |
| Team: Myles Cramer, Ryan Druffner, Emmaline Rial, and Dan Rudy (University of Pittsburgh) | Team: Peem Lerdputtipongporn, Natharat Mongkolsinh, Oravee Smithiphol, Pattamon Lekmanee (Carnegie Mellon University) |
Tech Track
| First Place | Runner Up |
|---|---|
| Project Title: “SpeechWatch Video Browser Extension” | Project Title: "Swipe to Post" |
| Team: Mihir Dhamankar (Carnegie Mellon University) | Team: Emily Brozeski and Tessa Datte (Duquesne University) |