Machines of Loving Grace

Spring Sprint Hackathon

Date May 3, 2026
Time 12:00 – 5:00 PM
Location Stata 32-141
Team Size 1 – 3
Join the Waitlist →

Registration was first come, first served and is now full — sign up to join the waitlist.

Open to MIT or cross-registered students with a valid @mit.edu address  ·  Food & Boba provided

Sponsored by

Anthropic Jane Street HRT

The Theme

Machines of Loving Grace

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei wrote an essay titled "Machines of Loving Grace" about a future in which AI helps eliminate disease, expand opportunity, strengthen democracy, and help people find meaning.

At this hackathon, we're hoping you'll build something that moves the needle, however small, toward a more humane world. Read the essay.

"Many of the implications of powerful AI are adversarial or dangerous, but at the end of it all, there has to be something we're fighting for, some positive-sum outcome where everyone is better off, something to rally people to rise above their squabbles and confront the challenges ahead. Fear is one kind of motivator, but it's not enough: we need hope as well."
Dario Amodei, Machines of Loving Grace (2024)

Challenge Tracks

Challenge tracks will be revealed at the opening ceremony.

Schedule

12:00 PM
Check-in opens + Boba
12:30 PM
Opening ceremony & Track Reveal
1:00 – 3:00 PM
Hack
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Lunch while judges review submitted demo videos
4:30 – 5:00 PM
Award ceremony

Note: we may still make a few tweaks to the exact schedule based on final participant count and number of judges.

Prizes

First Place

$1,000

+ $750 in Anthropic credits

Second Place

$500

+ $500 in Anthropic credits

Third Place

$250

+ $250 in Anthropic credits

Free API Credits

Anthropic requires participants to have attended at least one CBC meeting this semester to receive $25 in Claude API credits.

Please note: Anthropic unfortunately decided to end the free Claude Pro promotion, so only API credits are available.

We were originally holding office hours so people could meet this requirement, but we've noticed most people are primarily interested in the credits, so we put together an async option to claim them — see the guide on the right.

If you miss the Thursday deadline, you can still compete as long as you're registered — you just won't have free credits.

Running into issues setting up Claude or have questions? Email claude@mit.edu and we'll help you out.

Async Credit Activation

Follow the steps in the doc below to claim your $25 in API credits on your own time.

View async activation guide →

Already used your credits?

If you previously received CBC API credits and have already burned through them, you can request additional credits directly from Anthropic.

Request more credits →

Format & Guidelines

Eligibility

  • Team sizes can be anywhere from 1–3 people
  • All team members must be MIT or cross-registered students with valid @mit.edu emails
  • All team members must have had their registration approved in advance on Luma
  • All members must be checked in at Stata 32-141 by 12:30 PM

Judging

  • Judges will evaluate valid submissions using the same rubric, which will be shared with all participants during the opening ceremony
  • Judging may occur via live or submitted recorded demos. We're still figuring this out based on RSVPs and volunteer availability.

Submission Rules

  • To ensure fairness, all submissions must be new builds
  • Submissions that build off of team members' other projects or past hackathon projects will be disqualified

Sponsors