INTERNATIONAL AI CREATOR AWARD 2026
Ten fields, ten votes, ten critiques. The Final Judges vote after the open round has closed, and everything they write is published with their name on it.
An award is only as good as the reasons behind it. The open round decides who stands on the stage; it cannot, by itself, say why one work rather than another. That is what we are asking the Final Judges for — not authority, but reasons, written down and signed.
We are inviting about ten people for 2026. Most of them come from the community that has already been doing this work: voting in the open round, leaving comments, telling other people what they found.
Every entered work is open to you, not only the finalists. The works come from ten fields and from a number of countries, and a good part of this role is simply looking at work you would never have gone looking for.
One best work per field, chosen from the finalists and the recommended works. Ten fields, so ten choices — including the fields you did not come for. That is deliberate: it means no field is decided only by the people who happened to care about it.
Each vote carries a critique. A vote with no reasons is authority deciding quietly, and this award does not have that. Your critiques are published with the result, with your name and your profile beside them.
One vote per field, the same as everyone else
A Final Judge holds one vote per field — the same as everyone else in the final round — and cannot veto, override, or re-open a result. No payment, partnership, or office position changes the weight of a vote.
Names come from two places. The community is the main one — the people already voting and writing. The office also puts names forward. In both cases it is an invitation, and an invitation can be declined without any reason given.
Three things are not settled yet, and we would rather say so than imply otherwise. How the Final Judges' votes and the Award Supporters' votes combine into one result. Whether a recommended work that did not become a finalist is still on the Final Judges' ballot — the recommendation clause above says a recommendation skips screening and nothing else, so this needs to be reconciled before it is fixed. And the size of the panel and the term.
The Final Judges' work falls between the close of the open round and the ceremony. The dates below are the same ones the office works from.
| 2026-10-16 → 2026-10-26 | First-round judging and nominee announcement (Oct 16–26). Nominees are asked for the full version and credits |
| 2026-10-26 | Public vote opens (one vote per field, per person) |
| 2026-11-15 | Public vote closes |
| 2026-11-18 → 2026-11-20 | Award ceremony — Fri 20 Nov 15:50–16:50, INTER BEE IGNITION stage IG-205 (Makuhari Messe; show runs 18–20 Nov) |
If this is something you would take on, write to the office. If you would rather not, that is an answer too, and it costs you nothing with us.