HackEurope 2026: A short rant on AI and hackathons

At HackEurope 2026, despite organizational issues, the author identified key insights about modern hackathons: front-end presentation matters far more than functionality, all winning projects heavily featured AI, and the widespread use of AI tools has lowered barriers to entry while simultaneously encouraging conformity and discouraging genuinely creative or complex ideas. The author argues that AI has transformed hackathons from genuine innovation showcases into marketing exercises, with winning projects often lacking substantial technical implementation behind polished interfaces.