In October 2024, I attended a three-day-long conference-meets-hackathon focused on AI and journalism called Media Party.
Inspired by discussions on content authenticity and the onslaught on AI-generated bot traffic dominating the internet, I pitched Shepherd at the hackathon—an AI-driven browser extension that detects bot-like behaviour and content.
Alongside my brilliant team, which comprised of experts in various fields, from software engineering to influencer marketing, we built a prototype in just three hours. It won first place, earning the support of judges from the Brown Institute and the International Center for Journalists.
We then took the idea to the Columbia SPS Greater Good Challenge in December, where it won first place and earned $10,000 in funding from the Beba Foundation.
