The discussion of large language models (LLMs) and generative artificial intelligence was everywhere in 2023 – not least in the Guardian’s Product and Engineering department. Hack days are a staple part of the software development culture, so it was no surprise that at this year’s final hackathon, several developers and data scientists focused their attention in this area – covering potential applications in podcasting, search and image generation. And who wouldn’t want a browser extension that assesses the mood of a news article and finds an appropriate music track to enhance your reading experience?
In total, the teams, including colleagues from across the Guardian, produced and presented 24 hacks in the course of the two-day event – some of which took an entirely different turn. These included: a product that spits out cultural recommendations; a dedicated platform for showcasing Guardian documentaries; experiments with ChatGPT and Google Bard involving tools like Trello to improve efficiency; and a Guardian-themed generative AI screensaver.
