Build for Good: AI Lab for Housing

DevFest Providence 2026 is a hands-on ideation day where people who work on affordable housing in Rhode Island learn to build real solutions themselves, using agentic AI tools, with developers and organizers on hand to help.

How the day works

Morning: a short AI 101 framing, then a panel of local housing experts on the problems that actually need solving.

Afternoon: you build your own pilot. Small teams of three or fewer work at their own tables with Gemini, Antigravity, Claude Code, and whatever else gets you to a working prototype fast. No setup marathon. Organizers and experienced builders float between tables to unblock you, so nobody sits stuck and nobody builds it for you.

Close: teams share what they built. The panel scores against a rubric shared up front.

Then it keeps going

Teams that want to keep building get monthly GDG Providence check-ins through January, and a chance to pitch at the statewide summit that Rhode Island’s AI Hub is hosting in February 2027.

Who should come

Housing-sector staff, nonprofit leaders, and civic and community organizers with a real problem to bring. Developers, designers, and anyone who wants to see what AI-assisted building looks like when the stakes are real. No coding experience required.

Details

Free. In-person in Providence. Limited to 30 seats. New to these tools? Arrive early for a short onboarding session.

Registered? One more step: please fill in this two-minute form so we know you're coming and have a meal for you: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5Uq7kiRLHvM_Cfrb7SOX4H2EM2Hdl89-x927Z7sGb_mPVWw/viewform

Can't make it in person? Watch the livestream: https://youtube.com/live/7pR21Y1ONs8

AI Lab for HousingAll code created at the event is released under the MIT license.

Part of DevFest 2026, the Google Developer Groups global season: Build, Secure, Scale.

Co-hosts: GDG Providence, Ascend Impact Advisors, and Rhode Island’s AI Hub.

Featured speakers: HousingWorks RI and others coming soon!

Where

Rhode Island’s AI Hub
Institute for Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies
Rhode Island College, Gaige Hall
600 Mount Pleasant Avenue, Providence, RI 02908