ECO AI HACKATHON
DIGITAL COMMON(S) LAB X GERRY LI STUDIO X GOOGLE DEVELOPER GROUP HONG KONG X NEXAMIND AI
Date: 19–20 September 2026
Venue: CUHK YIA (Day 1) / CUHK INNOPORT (Day 2)
Time: 10:00–17:00 Daily
Instructors: Gerry Li, Frankie Wu, Ambrose Yuen, Dr. Provides Ng
Participants: University Students (18–25) / Open Track (26–35) |
Levels: Medium tech-art level
The deeply complex interrelationship between computation and nature is marked by a fundamental paradox: while digital technologies promise new modes of ecological awareness and representation, their material infrastructures—data centres, mining operations, and energy grids—enact direct environmental harms including deforestation, industrial pollution, wastewater discharge, and substantial operational and embodied carbon emissions.
This hackathon works with participants to critically reposition computational creative practices within these ecological contradictions. While leveraging computational and AI tools to visualize climate change impacts and amplify non-human ecological perspectives, the hackathon reframes digital creation not as a zero-sum relationship between technology and nature, but as an entangled, reciprocal dynamic within the Anthropocene. This reframing draws on emerging discourses in perma-computing and post-digital design, which advocate for creativity within computational constraints and ecological stewardship.
