“Kai”, the international technology company based in Doha, concluded the activities of the first hackathon (competition) for artificial intelligence, which it organizes in cooperation with the “Hagging Face” global platform for open source artificial intelligence tools and the developer community, with the participation of 140 people interested in artificial intelligence, including entrepreneurs, employees in the government and private sectors, and university and school students.
The hackathon was held at M7 (Msheireb Cultural Forum) during the period from 5 to 7 November, where 45 teams developed prototypes based on artificial intelligence, with the aim of providing solutions to various challenges, taking advantage of the open source models and tools available through the “Hagging Face” platform.
The program included technical workshops and specialized sessions under the supervision of experts from Kai and Hacking Face. At the conclusion of the hackathon, the teams presented their projects before a joint jury from both sides.
The projects included the areas of health care, nutrition, food safety, water purification, supply chains, policy support, Arabic language and cultural heritage, and simplifying institutional procedures.
The “Yolo” team, which included female students from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, won first place for the “Aquaguard” project, which presented a prototype of an early warning system that uses artificial intelligence to help desalination plants in Qatar monitor the risks of pollution resulting from oil spills and red tide phenomena.
The “All You Need Is a Hug” team came in second place for the “Qallaf” project, which uses artificial intelligence to reimagine the features of Qatar in 1908, and compare it to what it is today, based on traveler manuscripts preserved in the Qatar National Library.
While the “Gradient Descent” team won third place for the “Rasd” project, which relies on drone technologies for surveillance and tracking. The three winning teams received computing credits provided by Kai and Hugging Face to support the development of their projects.
The hackathon comes as part of KAI’s efforts to develop the necessary competencies to expand the use of reliable artificial intelligence in Qatar and the region.
Ms. Asma Fikri, Chief Strategy Officer at KAI and a member of the hackathon judging committee, said: “Over the course of the hackathon, the extent of the potential that developers in Qatar have clearly emerged, and what they can achieve when they are given the appropriate tools, specialized guidance, and effective partnerships to transform their ideas into practical prototypes. Talent development is at the heart of what we seek to achieve at KAI, and we look forward to the participating teams continuing to develop their projects and taking them to more advanced stages, while we continue to support The innovation system by launching similar initiatives opens new horizons for creativity and development.”