Hackathon
ALife AV Hackathon
This year ALife will host a Alife-inspired Visuals & Music hackathon exploring the confluence of evolution, AI, biocomplexity, and visual arts. The goal of the hackathon is to have a chance to explore how ALife systems and ideas can be used to create visuals and music.
The hackathon will take on the first day of the conference —Monday 22 July, from 12h to 16h30—, and participant will have the chance of present their creations at the closing party of the conference on on Friday 26th.
What to expect during the hackathon?
The workshop will adhere to a typical hackathon structure, beginning with an introduction, followed by project pitches, team formation, and project development. However, unlike many tech hackathons, the emphasis here is experimentation rather than results. The ALife hackathon will allow participants to develop a prototype that’s ready to be shown within the timeframe of the hackathon; participants are naturally free to further refine this prototype during the week if they wish so.
The objective of the workshop is also to serve as an space to meet fellow Alifers interested in the arts and music. Emphasis will be placed on experimentation and open-ended collaboration. Given the time constraints, it is expected that the final outcome of the hackathon will be a raw product; but we think of this as a feature, not a bug, of a visual/musical creation.
Do I need to have a project idea beforehand to join hackathon?
No, you don’t! But if you do, that’s great. You’ll have the chance to pitch it to others at the beginning of the hackathon.
What do I need to do to participate?
Short answer: Simply come to the hackathon.
Longer answer: If you are considering joining the hackathon, please click on this form, so we can better manage the organisation of the hackathon (drinks & communication channel for participants) and keep participants up to date.
I don’t know anything about creating visual and music, can I still join?
Absolutely! At the beginning of the hackathon Jack Armitage will present Tölvera —a Python library designed for composing together and interacting with basal agencies, inspired by artificial life and self-organising systems. We will also present a Javascript based library (more information on this coming soon). Tölvera can run on the GPU and allows for live-coding interaction. You can see some examples of what Tölvera can do here.
If you have any questions about the hackathon, please reach out to us artificiallife2024@gmail.com with subject Hackathon.
Program Schedule
Monday, July 22nd, 12:30 to 16:30, at the Scroll Bar (ITU, ground floor)
- 12:30: Welcome and Introduction to the Hackathon
- 12:40: Introduction to Tölvera by Jack Armitage and JS library (TBA)
- 13:00: Idea Pitching & Group Formation
- 13:30: Group Formation Confirmation and Quick Break
- 14:00: Hackathon: Intense Collaboration and Creation
- 16:30: Closing Remarks
Friday, July 26th, 18:30 to 20:00: Final Showcase and Performances at the Scroll Bar