Hacking4Humanity

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, CARVt at Pitt and Carnegie Mellon University, The Center for Informed Democracy and Social-cybersecurity Research Group at Carnegie Mellon University, and the Community College of Allegheny County to host Hacking4Humanity each year to encourage students to engage with real-world social problems that can be improved with novel technical and policy solutions.

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. 

Beginning in 2023, this collaboration has brought Pitt, Duquesne, CMU, and CCAC students together in a hybrid tech and policy hackathon. Hacking4Humanity 2026 will challenge students with the topic of Confronting AI Injustice, Creating Ethical Futures.

Thank you to our sponsors: 

• McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts, Duquesne University
• School of Science and Engineering, Duquesne University 
• Block Center for Technology and Society, Carnegie Mellon University 
• Partnership to Advance Responsible Technology (PART)

Congratulations to our 2026 winners:

Policy Track First Place: TBD - John Rice, Noah Spicer, and Jack Stonesifer, Duquesne University, "The Uniform Wage Replacement & Just Transition Act"

Policy Track Second Place: The Label Makers - Andrew Babich and Preet Patel, Duquesne University, "PA Artificial Intelligence Nutrition Label Act"

Policy Track Honorable Mention: Swati Mylarappa, University of Pittsburgh, "Pittsburgh Algorithmic Housing Accountability Initiative"

Tech Track First Place: Kris Rockwell, Robert Morris University, "Verification, Validation, and Credentialing of AI Training Data for Scientific Models Using Distributed Ledger Technology"

Tech Track Second Place: Reece Way, Duquesne University, "Vericall"

Tech Track Honorable Mention: Layla Bearden, Duquesne University, "Reimagining Healthcare for Tomorrow"

Watch the presentations here!