The Ethics Lab presents · Season 1
The Social Innovation Challenge
Build AI that does right by people. Start before you graduate.
You don't need to wait until college to learn how to use technology ethically. Find a real problem in your community, build something with AI that helps, and think through who it could help or harm. Free for high schoolers, solo or in a team of up to 4, with $850+ in prizes.
- Prize pool
- $850+
- Entry
- Free
- Teams
- 1 to 4
- Deadline
- Apr 10, 2027
- 147 days left
How it works
Four stages, one season
Register now, build through the spring, submit by April 10, and see the winners on May 8.
- 01
Open now
Register
Find your school's chapter or create one, then register solo or as a team.
- 02
Now to April
Build
Pick a real problem, build something with AI, and get real people to use it.
- 03
April 10, 2027
Submit
A 3-minute video and a one-page summary, by 11:59 pm ET.
Add to Google Calendar - 04
May 8, 2027
Showcase
Finalists announced April 24. Winners revealed at our online showcase.
Add to Google Calendar
Prizes
$850+ in prizes, and growing
The three best projects win cash. Every finalist gets a certificate.
$250
2nd place
$500
1st place
$100
3rd place
Want your organization's name on a prize? Sponsor one
The challenge
Find a problem. Build it with AI, responsibly. Prove it helps.
- 01
Impact
Start with a real problem people at your school or in your town actually have. Talk to them first.
- 02
AI
Build something where AI does real work: a chatbot, a classifier, a recommender, an app on a model.
- 03
Responsibility
Using technology well means thinking about who it could get wrong or leave out. Plan for that and build in safeguards. It counts for 20 points.
Topic suggestions. Do whatever you can make the biggest impact with:
- Study helper
- Fake-news spotter
- New-student chatbot
- Accessibility tool
- Family translator
- Food bank helper
- Recycling sorter
- Volunteer finder
- Deadline planner
- Your own idea
Who can enter
The rules, by the numbers
You need to be part of an Ethics Lab chapter at your school. No chapter yet? You'll create one while you register. What's a chapter?
- 9 to 12
- U.S. high school grades
- 13+
- years old
- 1 to 4
- students per team
- 1
- entry per student
- 3 min
- video, max
- 1 page
- summary, PDF
Free to enter. No coding required. The project has to use AI to help your school or community.
Judging
The exact rubric
100 points. A panel of educators, AI researchers, and our team scores every entry with this sheet.
| Criterion | Points | Exceptional | Strong | Developing | Missing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Real impact Did it help real people in your school or community, and can you show it? | 30 | 26–30 | 18–25 | 9–17 | 0–8 |
Innovation and use of AI Is it a fresh, practical idea, and does AI do real work in it? | 25 | 22–25 | 15–21 | 8–14 | 0–7 |
Ethics and care Did you think about who could be left out or harmed, and plan for it? | 20 | 17–20 | 12–16 | 6–11 | 0–5 |
Story and clarity Are the video and one-pager clear and engaging? | 15 | 13–15 | 9–12 | 5–8 | 0–4 |
Teamwork and process Did everyone contribute? Solo entries: planning and follow-through. | 10 | 9–10 | 6–8 | 3–5 | 0–2 |
Register
Don't wait to build something good
You compete through your school's Ethics Lab chapter. No chapter yet? Start one. It takes about 2 minutes.
- 1Your chapter
- 2Register
Find your school's chapter
If there isn't one yet, you'll create it in under 2 minutes.
Run by The Ethics Lab, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, with
A.D. Henderson
University School
FAQ
Questions
What is the Social Innovation Challenge?
A free national competition for high school students run by The Ethics Lab, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. It teaches the ethical use of technology by doing: you find a real problem in your school or community, build something with AI that helps fix it, think through who it could help or harm, and submit a short video and a one-page summary. The top three projects win $500, $250, and $100.
Who can enter?
U.S. high school students in grades 9 to 12, age 13 or older, who are part of an Ethics Lab chapter at their school. If your school doesn't have one, you can create it in under 2 minutes while you register.
Is it free?
Yes. There is no entry fee and no dues.
Do I need to know how to code?
No. Many AI tools need no code, like chatbot builders and image classifiers. Judges score what your project does and who it helps, not how hard the code was.
Can I enter alone?
Yes. Enter solo or in a team of up to 4 from your chapter. Each student can be on one entry.
What counts as an AI project?
Anything where AI does real work: a chatbot, a tool that sorts or recognizes images, a model that predicts or recommends, an app built on an AI model. Using AI just to write your one-pager does not count.
How do I submit?
From your Ethics Lab account: a YouTube link to your video (up to 3 minutes) and a one-page PDF. The video must be set to Unlisted. We check this, and Public or Private videos are not accepted. We email every registered team when submissions open.
When is the deadline?
April 10, 2027 at 11:59 pm Eastern. Finalists are announced April 24 and winners May 8, 2027 at our online showcase.