Black Girls Code And The Doux Launch AI Challenge Empowering Young Girls And Women To Shape Black Beauty Narratives
Two powerhouses in tech and beauty — Black Girls Code and The Doux — have launched the Black Beauty AI Challenge, a new competition empowering Black girls and young women to shape how AI understands Black beauty, according to a news release.
With cash prizes, national recognition, and a New York City gallery showcase up for grabs, the competition blends innovation with cultural impact.
Black Beauty AI Challenge Details And Prizes
The challenge invites U.S.-based girls and young women, ages 13 to 25, to produce 60–90 second AI-generated videos showcasing their unique perspectives on Black beauty, style, and culture, per the release.
Participants can enter through two age tracks:
- Youth Track: 13–17
- Young Adult Track: 18–25
To ensure accessibility, prize-eligible entries must use free AI tools like Kaiber.ai, Runway ML, Luma Labs, Pika, CapCut, or Canva. Entries made with paid tools can earn honorary recognition but not cash prizes. No prior experience with coding or tech is necessary to participate.
Prize breakdown:
- $1,500 – People’s Choice
- $1,000 – First Place
- $750 – Second Place
- $500 – Third Place
- $150 Doux Gift Card – Fourth Place
- $100 Doux Gift Card – Honorary Mentions
Empowering Black Creators: Judges And Vision
A panel of tech, beauty, and media leaders will judge the challenge.
Cristina Mancini, CEO of Black Girls Code, and Maya and Brian Smith, co-founders of The Doux, lead the judging committee. Other judges include Akili King, senior beauty editor for Essence; Blake Newby, content creator and TV personality; Claire Sulmers, founder of Fashion Bomb Daily; Jackie Fields, deputy beauty director for People; Julee Wilson, beauty editor-at-large at Cosmopolitan; and Olivia Hancock, senior beauty editor for Byrdie.
“At Black Girls Code, we show girls and young women that technology is theirs to shape and to connect to their lived experiences. The future of AI is being written right now,” Mancini said, per the release. “This challenge is about nurturing confidence and sparking creativity to empower women to lead in this new tech era.”
The challenge also puts control of the AI narrative in the hands of Black creators.
“If Black creators don’t guide what AI learns from us, we risk being overlooked—or worse, misrepresented by others,” Maya Smith said, per the release. “The Black Beauty AI Challenge is about taking control of that narrative by challenging these young women to run the code.”
From Vision To Reality
The challenge will feature the winning videos on Instagram and TikTok. Finalists and winners will also have their videos appear at a pop-up gallery in New York City on Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2026.
Together, Black Girls Code and The Doux combine tech education and cultural pride. They support a new generation of creators shaping how AI sees and understands Black beauty and identity.
Applications for submissions opened on June 30 and will close on Sept. 1, 2025. Finalists will be notified at the end of September with winners announced around the first week of November.
For more information, visit www.thedoux.com or follow @blackgirlscode and @ilovethedoux on Instagram.
