Decision-Grade AI is committed to providing a welcoming, inclusive, safe, and harassment-free experience for everyone participating in the event.

This Code of Conduct applies to all attendees, participants, team members, speakers, mentors, judges, sponsors, partners, volunteers, organizers, and staff.

It applies to conduct at the event and in event-related spaces, including online platforms, communication channels, and the Devpost hackathon page.

We expect everyone to help create an environment where people can learn, build, collaborate, and share ideas respectfully.

We do not tolerate harassment, discrimination, threats, or other abusive behavior at our event or in event-related spaces.

We welcome participants regardless of:

• Gender, gender identity, or gender expression
• Sexual orientation
• Age
• Disability
• Race or ethnicity
• Nationality or immigration status
• Religion or belief
• Political views
• Physical appearance or body size
• Socioeconomic background
• Computing or AI experience
• Educational or professional background
• Programming language, technical approach, or technology stack
• Previous hackathon experience or lack thereof

This applies throughout the event, including:

• The technical kickoff and panel
• Team formation and collaboration
• The buildathon
• Mentoring sessions
• Project submissions and review
• Judging
• Social activities associated with the event
• Online spaces and communications related to the event
• The event's Devpost page and related submission activities

Sexualized language, imagery, or behavior is not appropriate in event spaces, presentations, demos, projects, or event-related communications.

Participants are expected to respect reasonable boundaries, consent, and requests to stop inappropriate behavior.

Harassment includes, but is not limited to:

• Offensive or discriminatory verbal or written comments
• Deliberate intimidation or threats
• Stalking or following someone
• Unwelcome sexual attention
• Unwelcome physical contact
• Sexualized images, language, or content in public event spaces
• Sustained disruption of talks, workshops, demos, or other activities
• Photography, audio recording, or video recording of someone after they have reasonably asked you to stop
• Retaliation against someone who raises a concern or participates in an investigation
• Other conduct that creates an unsafe, hostile, or exclusionary environment

Because this is a buildathon, the Code of Conduct also applies to projects created and submitted during the event.

Teams should not intentionally incorporate harassing, discriminatory, threatening, or sexually explicit content into their projects, submissions, presentations, or other event materials.

This does not prohibit legitimate technical exploration, research, or discussion of sensitive topics when presented appropriately and in the context of the project.

We encourage ambitious experimentation and disagreement about technical ideas. Critique ideas, systems, and approaches — not the people presenting them.

Photography and recording are permitted at the event, but please be considerate.

Give participants a reasonable opportunity to opt out of being photographed or recorded. If someone asks you not to photograph or record them, please respect their request.

Do not photograph, record, or share images of people in places where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

If you experience harassment, witness inappropriate behavior, or have another concern about your safety or the event environment, please contact an event organizer or staff member as soon as possible.

You do not need to confront the person involved yourself.

When possible, please provide relevant details such as what happened, when and where it occurred, and who was involved. You may also share supporting information or evidence if you have it.

Event organizers will listen to concerns, take them seriously, and determine an appropriate response based on the circumstances and information available.

We will respect the privacy of people who report concerns to the extent reasonably possible. Information may need to be shared with relevant organizers, venue personnel, or appropriate authorities when necessary to address a safety or legal issue.

Retaliation against anyone who raises a concern in good faith or participates in an investigation is not permitted.

If necessary, organizers may help connect participants with venue security, emergency services, or appropriate local resources.

Participants who violate this Code of Conduct may be subject to appropriate action by the organizers, including:

• A warning
• Being asked to stop specific behavior
• Removal from a session or event activity
• Removal from the event
• Disqualification of a project or team, where appropriate
• Being prohibited from participating in future event activities
• Contacting venue security or law enforcement when circumstances warrant

Organizers will consider the circumstances, severity, context, and available information when determining an appropriate response.

We expect participants who are asked to stop harassing or inappropriate behavior to comply immediately.

If you have a concern during or in connection with the event, please contact a member of the organizing team at [email protected].

ELIGIBILITY AND TEAMS

• This is an in-person event in Palo Alto. Remote and asynchronous submissions are not accepted.
• Participants must meet the eligibility requirements displayed on this Devpost event, including being of legal age of majority in their country of residence.
• A Partiful RSVP is required for venue entry. Every competing team member must also be registered on Devpost.
• Teams may have 1–4 members. Each team submits one entry in one judged track through that track's submission form.
• Organizers, judges, and mentors are not eligible for prizes.

BUILD WINDOW AND SUBMISSION DEADLINE

• Build window: October 10, 2026, from 1:15–3:00 PM Pacific.
• Submission deadline: 3:00 PM Pacific. Submit your entry and required materials before the deadline.
• Judging and awards: judges score each track and select the top project per challenge from 3:00–3:20 PM, then the full panel awards 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and Best Use of Ezio from 3:20–3:45 PM. Judging is from your submitted materials — no live presentation is required. Approval Gate judges may additionally ask to rerun the harness or send an input through your wrapper during a short verification slot. Submitted videos may be replayed during deliberation.
• Complete challenge-specific work during the build window. Provided starters, general-purpose libraries, APIs, and boilerplate are allowed. Arriving with a pre-built solution to the challenge is not.

AI TOOLS AND DATA SAFETY

• AI tools and coding assistants are allowed. Teams remain responsible for checking their outputs and explaining their submissions.
• For Before You Act, bring or generate one genuine AI answer about your chosen everyday decision, record where it came from, keep the analyzed answer unchanged, and attach the complete Ezio report to your workflow.
• For Build a Trust Agent, use one of the four sample reports from the Ezio Try page as your agent's input; your agent must work on any of the four reports, not just the one you picked.
• For Approval Gate, build against the local simulated Ezio API; do not modify the harness, mock, or fixture files the report checksums. The wrapper must run fully offline at judging time — local models are fine, but no decision may depend on an external API.
• Sponsor APIs (TokenRouter, Keenable) are free to use while you build in any track.
• Use made-up or approved non-sensitive inputs. Do not place confidential or sensitive customer, employer, client, legal, financial, health, or personal information into event tools, audit logs, or public project materials.
• Respect the licenses and usage terms of any code, data, models, or services you use.

API KEYS AND CREDITS

• Use event-provided access and credits according to the provider’s terms.
• Keep real API keys out of source code, repositories, public pages, and shared chats. Store them securely, such as in environment variables.
• The local mock’s fixed example key is not a live Ezio credential.
• Report any suspected credential leak to an organizer immediately.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

You retain ownership of your original work. Ezio and the event partners claim no ownership over submissions. Third-party materials remain subject to their existing licenses. Organizers may ask to feature your project with your permission.

PRIZES AND AWARDS

Judged prizes: HarnessRouter Cash Prize — $500 cash; 1st Place — $1,000 in TokenRouter API credits; 2nd Place — $500 in TokenRouter API credits; 3rd Place — $300 in TokenRouter API credits; Best Use of Ezio — 1 month of free unlimited Ezio access. Prizes are awarded per team. Participant API credits are separate from competition prizes.

Award rules: each team may receive at most one judged prize, except that a sponsor-provided prize may be awarded together with a placement. The judges’ panel orders the three track winners as 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Best Use of Ezio is then selected from all non-podium teams across all tracks.

The Ezio Product Feedback raffle is optional and separate from judging: 5 winners × $50 Amazon gift cards, drawn at random during the 3:45–4:00 PM wrap-up. Open to eligible attendees across all tracks, including podium winners — one entry per person via the raffle entry form (feedback itself goes through Ezio’s Feedback menu). Positive, critical, and mixed feedback have equal odds and no effect on project scores.

CONDUCT AND QUESTIONS

The Code of Conduct above applies throughout the event and in event-related online spaces. Decisions of the judges and organizers are final.

For questions or concerns, contact [email protected] or speak with an organizer at the event.