AI Policy

1. AI Tools Are Allowed

Participants are welcome to use AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini, etc.) throughout the hackathon. AI can be used for coding frontend and backend, debugging, research, design, or document writing if needed for the hackathon.

2. Disclosure Is Required

Every team must add a file named AI\_USAGE.md to the root of their GitHub project repository. This file must state:

  • Which AI tool(s) were used
  • What they were used for
  • Where in the project they were used (specific files, features, or components), or mention the whole project, if no file was written without AI
  • Specify specific files, where minimal or no AI was used, for example the Open Payments service file

Example: AI_USAGE.md

#AI Usage Disclosure

## Tools Used

* ChatGPT (GPT-4o) 

* Claude

## Where and How We Used AI

### 1. Backend – Payment flow (`/src/api/open-payments.ts`)

* Used Claude to scaffold the initial Open Payments flow, creating incoming and outgoing payments, as well as quote creation. 

* Reviewed and rewrote error handling ourselves after testing revealed the AI's version didn't handle grants correctly.

### 2. Frontend – Donation platform UI (`/src/components/Donation.tsx`)

* Used Claude to generate all design and frontend pages and components

### 3. Documentation – README setup instructions

* Used ChatGPT to draft the initial README structure. 

* Edited by hand to match our actual setup steps and fix inaccurate install commands.

## What We Did Ourselves

* Testing and verification of all AI-suggested code

## Prompt Log

See `/prompts/backend-payments.md` for the full list of prompts used to generate the open payments flow code.

3. Prompt Logs Are Required

Teams must also push the prompts they used to instruct AI tools for coding into their repo, in a folder called /prompts (or appended to AI\_USAGE.md if the log is short). This should include the actual prompt text sent to the AI, not just a summary. All AI tools used should be able to provide a prompt list to be saved in the folder/file.

Example: /prompts/backend-payments.md

4. Recommendations

Use AI, But Don’t Outsource Your Work Or Your Thinking

Work with it, don’t make it work instead of you. AI usage is fully permitted and encouraged as a productivity tool. That said, we strongly encourage participants not to outsource the entire project to AI. Hackathons are meant to build your own skills and judgment; the value is in your understanding of what you built, not in how much AI wrote for you.

Trust, but verify. Always review, test, and understand any code or content AI gives you before shipping it. AI-generated code can be subtly wrong, insecure, or based on outdated APIs, or not even Interledger Open Payments API. You are responsible for what’s in your repo, regardless of who (or what) wrote it.

5. Required Open Payments Preparation

Before the hackathon (or before submitting), all participants must complete one of the following:

A solid understanding of the Open Payments flow is required before building on it, and this preparation ensures every participant has that foundation.