​​**Important registration information: ​**

* **To participate in this event, please sign up through [Apart Research's event page](https://apartresearch.com/sprints/def-acc-hackathon-2025-11-21-to-2025-11-23) before registering.**
* **RSVP [on the Luma version of the event](https://luma.com/gnyqha4a) – that's where we'll send updates of this local jam site**

​**What is defensive acceleration?** Def/acc is about building technology to protect us from the biggest threats we face – everything from pandemics and cybercrime to powerful AI itself. **This hackathon is about strengthening the shield.** And right now, we're dramatically underinvested in it.

​The problem is that AI is fundamentally changing what's possible for both attackers and defenders. Language models can guide pathogen design. Automated tools discover software vulnerabilities faster than humans can patch them. The attack surface is expanding while our defensive infrastructure – biosurveillance systems, cybersecurity tools, coordination mechanisms – remains fragmented and slow to adapt. We face an uncomfortable asymmetry: offensive capabilities are democratizing rapidly while defensive capabilities lag behind.

20000 USD in prizes.

​More information can be found on the [the def/acc hackathon ](https://apartresearch.com/sprints/def-acc-hackathon-2025-11-21-to-2025-11-23)page.

Orpheus Lummis

Montréal AI safety, governance, and ethics

Science & Education

Artificial Intelligence

Ethics

Malcolm Olafson

Mtl Day

Kundan Kumar

Adrien

Jules Lambert

Valerie

Mike Bougie

Defensive Acceleration Hackathon

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Montréal AI safety, governance, and ethics

Defensive Acceleration Hackathon

Montréal AI safety, governance, and ethics

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