SK Telecom Partners with OpenAI for 'Hackathon Competition'... 1st Prize 40 Million KRW

Application Deadline by the 3rd of Next Month
Developing Services to Help Humanity
"Activating the Global AI Ecosystem"

SK Telecom will hold an artificial intelligence (AI) hackathon in Seoul together with OpenAI, which has caused a global sensation with ChatGPT.

On the 16th, SKT announced that it will partner with OpenAI in the United States to host the AI hackathon "Prompter Day Seoul 2023" in Seoul next month. A hackathon is a competition where participants such as planners, developers, and designers develop services or business models on a given theme within a set period of time, combining the words hacking and marathon.

SKT and OpenAI stated, "This event was organized to respond to rapid technological advancements and industrial changes by utilizing generative AI technology and to discover global talents who will lead the future AI industry."

Developers and planners interested in generative AI can participate in the hackathon regardless of nationality. Participants can use OpenAI models, including ChatGPT, for development during the competition. Applications can be submitted through the official event website. The application deadline is until the 3rd of next month.

The hackathon theme is "Developing services that can help humanity through AI." Based on a human-centered approach, participants can challenge various fields such as ▲improving productivity in daily life ▲enhancing enjoyment through content ▲improving the lives of marginalized groups ▲educational innovation.

The competition will have judges including James Diet, OpenAI Strategic Customer Lead; Jeong Seok-geun, Head of SKT Global/AI Technology Division; and Noh Jeong-seok, CEO of Bfactory. Professor Oh Hye-yeon from KAIST will also attend as a speaker. Participants can receive mentoring support from a team of AI experts and use the hackathon as a networking opportunity.

The preliminary round (online) will be held on the 16th and 17th of next month, followed by the finals over two days on the 23rd and 24th at Dreamplus Gangnam. The finals will feature various programs including competitions, presentations and award ceremonies, panel speeches, and networking sessions.

The total prize money is 100 million KRW, with 40 million KRW awarded to the grand prize winner. Winners of the Excellence Award or higher will be exempt from the first screening when applying for SKT Junior Talent (new employee) recruitment. The two companies also plan to consider joint service development and commercialization of outstanding ideas discovered through this competition.

Brad Lightcap, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of OpenAI, said, "It is a tremendous honor to look at how AI will shape the future in the world and in Korea, along with the development of beneficial and safe AI technology," adding, "We will see new ideas, challenges, and services through this competition."

SKT President Yoo Young-sang stated, "Based on strengthening the partnership with OpenAI, we will strive to revitalize the global AI ecosystem."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.