What is LingHacks II?
LingHacks II is the second iteration of the world's first computational linguistics hackathon for high schoolers. Our goal is to expose students of all backgrounds to the field of natural language processing and inspire students to pursue computer science in their careers. ​LingHacks II is a 24-hour invention competition where you come together with a team and build a software project that integrates computational linguistics and solves a scientific or social problem. LingHacks is a member of the Obama White House's CSforALL National Consortium and is the inaugural recipient of the AI4ALL Impact Grant.
Why computational linguistics?
Computational linguistics bridges the gap between simple rule-following computers and complex humans who can comprehend emotion and interpret ambiguity, which gives computers more humanistic abilities. Comp ling techniques also power tools used in biology, fintech, IT, and more. Computational linguistics intrigues people across a broad spectrum of artistic and technical interests.
What should I bring?
Bring a valid student ID and any hardware you will need for your hack. Our venue will provide top-notch iMacs for participants, but we recommend that you bring your own laptop as well. As this is an overnight event, we also recommend bringing toiletries and a sleeping bag & pillow.
Got another question?
What is computational linguistics?
Computational linguistics, otherwise known as natural language processing, is the field of artificial intelligence that applies to the synthesis and analysis of language and speech. Things like machine translation technologies, voice assistants, search engines, and chatbots are all powered by computational linguistics tools. It's a fascinating synergy of scientific techniques applied to an elegant humanity that is part and parcel of our core human identities.
What is a hackathon?
A hackathon is a weekend-long invention competition and educational experience. Check out this video by MLH for an inside look at what happens at a hackathon!
​When, where, and how much?
LingHacks II happened from 9:00 a.m. on March 30th to 12:00 p.m. on March 31st, 2019 at 42 US (6600 Dumbarton Circle, Fremont, CA) and was open to high school students at or over age 13. Thanks to our sponsors, LingHacks II was completely free!
Prerequisites & rules?
No experience is required! We have designed workshops and will have mentors onsite to help you gain skills in programming, machine learning, and natural language processing.
Teams can be between 1 and 4 people, and you don't need to have a team or an idea beforehand--we'll have ideation and team-forming sessions!
​You are also subject to the MLH Code of Conduct.
Schedule
Day 1: March 30, 2019
9:00 am Check-in Begins
10:00 am Opening Ceremony
10:15 am Opening Keynote
"AI and Language: Hacking Humanity's Greatest Invention"
by Dr. Steve Omohundro (AIBrain)
10:30 am Hacking Begins
Team Formation Activities
11:30 am Workshop: Intro to Python
by Karina Halevy
12:30 pm Lunch
1:30 pm Workshop: Intro to Machine Learning & NLTK
by Karina Halevy
3:30 pm Snacks
4:00 pm Workshop: Intro to Speech Recognition
by Eilleen Zhang
5:00 pm Workshop: Build an Action for Google Assistant
by Eilleen Zhang
6:30 pm Dinner
7:30 pm Workshop: Intro to Deep Learning
​by Karina Halevy
9:00 pm Cup Stacking by Major League Hacking
​
Day 2: March 31, 2019
12:00 am Midnight Snack
​7:30 am Breakfast
8:30 am Hacking Ends, Drafts Due on Devpost
9:00 am Final Submissions Due on Devpost
10:00 am Presentations & Judging
11:30 am Prizes & Closing Ceremony
​ 12:00 pm End of Hackathon
Team
Bhavya Gupta
Operations
Namita Deshpande
Outreach & Operations
Campus Ambassadors
Harman Gidha
Basis Independent Silicon Valley
Gautham Raghupathi
Monta Vista High School
Vinayak Bagdi
Cupertino High School
Amisha Jain
American High School
Shruti Janardhanan
Mission San Jose High School
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Steve Omohundro
Steve Omohundro is the Chief Scientist at AIBrain. He has degrees in mathematics and physics from Stanford, a Ph.D. in physics from Berkeley, and was a professor of computer science at the University of Illinois. He designed the first data parallel AI programming language, StarLisp, at Thinking Machine and invented systems for manifold learning, lip reading, stochastic grammar learning, and many others. He discovered the "Basic AI Drives" and has done influential work on the social impact of AI. At AIBrain he is working on "Augmented Intelligence" based on AI-optimized human learning, AI-powered gamification, and AI-enhanced social interaction.
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