HackaCon : The AI-Generated Conversation Hackathon

Can AI fake a conversation between two real people? Lancaster University's red-teaming hackathon wants to find out. HackaCon is an interdisciplinary challenge exploring one of the hardest problems in AI and interaction research: can AI generate a convincing recording of a natural conversation between two specific speakers who have never interacted? Unlike conventional hackathons, HackaCon focuses on the interactional realities of spoken conversation, overlaps, hesitations, timing, speaker-specific style, and conversational dynamics. We're looking to establish the state of the art of current AI capabilities in this sphere, and what this means for identity, trust, and fraud. Run by Lancaster University's Linguistics Department as part of the Integrity research theme. Open to all: researchers, students, developers, professionals, and practitioners from linguistics, AI, cybersecurity, computing, defence, media, and beyond. Submission window: 1 August - 30 September 2026. Submit via: hackacon.ai. Contact: factor@lancaster.ac.uk.