# Welcome to the AI TruthRise Hackathon: Shaping the Future of Trust in AI # Artificial Intelligence is no longer just a tool; it’s redefining industries, creating new opportunities, and reshaping human interaction. From personalised assistants to content creation, AI has become a powerful enabler of progress. But with great power comes an unsettling consequence: distrust. We’re entering an era where the boundary between real and synthetic blurs. In Hong Kong, a UK engineering firm fell victim to a £20 million scam through an AI-generated deepfake video call. Meanwhile, in France, a woman was conned out of €830,000 by criminals impersonating actor Brad Pitt using advanced AI technology. These aren’t fictional horror stories — they’re real world examples of how AI can be exploited to deceive and manipulate, threatening trust at its very core. As AI’s capabilities grow, so does the urgency to address these challenges. The pressing question isn’t can we build advanced AI systems? But rather how can we ensure they are trustworthy, transparent, and ethical? **Rebuilding Trust in the AI-Driven World** The solution lies in verifiable, secure, and ethical AI systems. This is where the AI TruthRise Hackathon comes in — a collaborative space for builders, creators, and visionaries to design a future where trust and AI coexist. Imagine a world where: AI agents act transparently and ethically, ensuring they represent the true interests of users. Content credentials authenticate AI-generated images, videos, and text, safeguarding against deepfakes and disinformation. Verified datasets ensure AI is built on ethical, accurate, and unbiased information. At cheqd, we are committed to leading this transformation. By empowering innovators with the tools to create verifiable AI solutions, we’re setting the stage for trust-first AI ecosystems. The AI TruthRise Hackathon is a rallying call to restore trust in AI and shape the future of a more secure, transparent, and ethical AI landscape. Join us as we build solutions that don’t just imagine a better future — they create it. Let’s rise to the challenge, together. # Official community channel # All major announcements or communications will be via a discord channel [here](https://discord.com/invite/yuSCqDEVNh). # cheqd Tracks and prizes # ## Tracks ## During the hackathon, participants will tackle challenges that align with three key pillars: **Agentic economy / AI Agents, e.g.** 1. Verification of trustworthy AI agents, i.e. development, training and deployment 2. Verification between AI agents, i.e. exchanging credentials to prove authorisation on behalf of someone 3. Use of trusted data, i.e. AI Agent using loyalty scheme details or similar to make a personalised booking. **Other:** 1. Content credentials, e.g. verifiable credentials or trust infrastructure proving provenance and / or veracity of generated (or non-generated) outputs. 2. Verified Datasets or Infrastructure, to support verification and consumption of data-sets, generated or otherwise. # Submission and judging # ## Submission criteria ## The following are requirements for submissions to this hackathon: 1. Incorporate unique use cases or implementation 2. Deliberate and appropriate usage of cheqd capabilities, e.g. Decentralised Identifiers (DIDs), verifiable credentials (VCs), Trust registries, DID-Linked Resources (DLRS) etc 3. Explanation of how and why cheqd capabilities were used. 4. 3-minute video describing what the app does and provide a URL to a public code repository. 5. Text description of the project’s features and functionality. **Multiple Submissions** 1. Entrants are allowed to submit more than one submission. However, each submission must be unique and substantially different from the others. 2. Submission Materials 3. All submission materials must be in English, including the demonstration video, text description, and testing instructions, as well as any other materials submitted. **Disclosure:** 1. Projects submitted to other hackathons or challenges need to be disclosed in the submission or README of the project. 2. Our judges will evaluate project submissions based on how the team implements their features and the uniqueness of the application. Top three projects will be awarded the prize pool. ## Judging criteria ## **Technical Excellence (40 points)** 1. Cheqd Capability Implementation (30 points) 2. Code Quality (10 points) **Innovation & Impact (30 points)** 1. Problem-Solution Fit (20 points) 2. Innovation Level (10 points) **Business Viability (15 points)** **Presentation Quality (10 points)** **Bonus Points (5 points)** # Verida Bounty and prizes # ## **Bounty Theme: Build an Agent incorporating Private User Data** **Details**: Incorporate verified private user data, sourced directly from the user via Verida AI, into your solution. This may include gmail, youtube, telegram, spotify, Verida AI inference and any other user owned data. **Focus on:** 1. Protecting private user data 2. Secure data sharing methods 3. Consent-driven access protocols 4. Verifiability of private user data **Requirements:** 1. Deliberate and appropriate use of [Verida API’s](https://docs.verida.ai/) 2. Obtain permission from a user to access their private data via the Verida 3. Authentication to ensure user consent 4. Explanation of how and why Verida AI capabilities were used **Verida AI** Build Personal AI Agents with Private Data Access. Create and deploy personalized AI agents with secure data connectors, custom knowledge bases, and configurable inference endpoints. # Official community channel # All major announcements or communications will be via a discord channel [here](https://discord.com/invite/yuSCqDEVNh). # Developer resources # **Docs** - [Product docs site (for developers)](https://docs.cheqd.io/product) - [Get Started with cheqd Studio (API service)](https://docs.cheqd.io/product/getting-started/studio) - [Choose the best SDK for you](https://docs.cheqd.io/product/sdk/understanding-sdks) - [$CHEQ token acquisition](https://cheqd.io/get-involved/) **Tutorials** - [Create DIDs](https://docs.cheqd.io/product/studio/dids) - [Issue Verifiable Credentials](https://docs.cheqd.io/product/studio/credentials) - [Issue Payment-Gated Credentials](https://docs.cheqd.io/product/studio/payments) - [Create Trust Registries](https://docs.cheqd.io/product/studio/trust-registries) - [Create Status List](https://docs.cheqd.io/product/studio/status-lists) - [Create DID-Linked Resources](https://docs.cheqd.io/product/studio/did-linked-resources) **Other resources** - [Block explorer](https://explorer.cheqd.io/) - [System status](https://status.cheqd.net/) - [$CHEQ testnet faucet](https://testnet-faucet.cheqd.io/) # Intro to core technologies # **Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs):** cheqd uses DIDs to identify companies and their associated public keys on its blockchain. Through these identifiers, companies can sign digital documents known as Verifiable Credentials, that can be issued to individuals or organisations to attest a particular attribute or set of attributes. - Find the DID Core spec [here](https://github.com/w3c/did-core) - Find cheqd’s docs to start building [here](https://docs.cheqd.io/product/studio/dids) **Verifiable Credentials:** Using cheqd’s APIs or SDKs, builders can issue Verifiable Credentials to digital identity wallets, cryptographically signed by the DIDs on cheqd’s blockchain network. These can be used for providing individuals or organisations with a reusable, portable and verifiable way of presenting facts or attributes about themselves to third parties, without reliance on a centralized intermediary. - Find the VC Data Model spec [here](https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model/) - Find cheqd’s docs to start building [here](https://docs.cheqd.io/product/studio/credentials) **DID-Linked Resources (DLRs):** Using DLRs, builders can append any file to a DID. This can be used for various purposes, such as storing metadata to a companies’ identifier, or information pertaining to a set of issued credentials, e.g., status lists, trust registries, schemas, company logo, governance documents. - Find the DLR spec [here](https://w3c-ccg.github.io/DID-Linked-Resources/) - Find cheqd’s docs to start building [here](https://docs.cheqd.io/product/studio/did-linked-resources) **Payment-Gated Resources:** Builders can create flows where in order to access a DLR, a payment needs to be made to the controller of the DLR $CHEQ account. This creates the opportunity for customisable commercial models alongside the flow of Verifiable Credentials, for example, to incentivise issuance of VCs, an issuer may charge for access to a particular subset of verification data, such as a status list. - Find cheqd’s docs to start building [here](https://docs.cheqd.io/product/studio/payments) **$CHEQ token:** All identity transactions on the cheqd blockchain network incur a $CHEQ transaction fee, including the writing of DIDs and DLRs. Recently, cheqd has introduced the concept of fee abstraction, meaning that any transaction can also be made in an IBC denomination, such as USDC on cheqd. - See cheqd’s website for information on acquiring $CHEQ tokens [here](https://cheqd.io/get-involved/) All of cheqd’s identity functionality is available via either: - cheqd Studio: A set of enterprise ready APIs for implementing cheqd’s identity functionality with low effort. Get started for free [here](https://cheqd.io/solutions/cheqd-studio/) - cheqd SDKs: A wide range of supported libraries and protocols contained in SDKs, for different credential formats and exchange options - in different coding languages. Find the SDK for you [here](https://docs.cheqd.io/product/sdk/understanding-sdks) # About cheqd # *cheqd empowers developers to build scalable, trustworthy and privacy-first identity and AI solutionsI. As experts in trust, cheqd provides a blockchain network tailored for creating Decentralised Identifiers (DIDs) and Verifiable Credentials (VCs), integrating credential payments, and managing Trust Registries. These tools are critical for ensuring the trustworthiness of AI systems by enabling transparency and verifiability. Already, cheqd has forged key partnerships with more than 70% of the SSI application vendor market to date, with numerous AI clients onboarded leveraging cheqd to build trusted solutions. Developers can access SDKs, APIs, and open source resources to streamline development across all major VC formats (JWT-VC, JSON-LD, AnonCreds). With cheqd, you can monetise credential issuance and sharing while maintaining privacy. From zero knowledge proofs to eIDAS 2.0 compliance, cheqd supports global standards and innovation in trusted data markets. Whether you're developing AI or other solutions that put users at the centre, cheqd offers the infrastructure and tools to launch commercially sustainable, privacy-preserving applications.* # About SPRITE+ # *SPRITE+ brings together people involved in research, practice, and policy with a focus on digital contexts. We are a 'one stop shop' for engagement between academic and non-academic communities - a way for these communities to connect and a platform for building collaborations across the spectrum of issues relating to security, privacy, identity and trust. We are funded until 31 August 2027 under the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) Digital Security and Resilience Theme (grant reference EP/W020408/1)* *SPRITE+ is led by a consortium of five universities: University of Manchester (lead institution), Imperial College London, Lancaster University, Queen’s University Belfast, and University of Southampton. Our Management Team is supported by a multi-disciplinary group of more than 190 Expert Fellows and 24 Project Partners from different sectors, including industry, government, law enforcement, and civil society.* # About Verida # *Verida, based in Australia, provides a mobile wallet used by a Holder to receive, store and present their VCs. This mobile wallet also provides an embedded crypto wallet combined with the world’s leading decentralized, encrypted private data storage network suitable for storing VC’s. This provides a simple interface for end users to interact with traditional finance products and blockchain digital assets in a regulatory compliant manner.* *Verida, in collaboration with cheqd and FinClusive, is thrilled to announce the launch of a verifiable KYC/KYB solution powered by digital credentials – to modernise client onboarding and monitoring across traditional and decentralised financial services on a global scale.*