The latest articles on DEV Community by Rabia Arif (@rabiaaarif). https://dev.to/rabiaaarif https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4050792%2F20a107ef-e3f6-4345-ba3e-d1e959d1db2e.jpg https://dev.to/rabiaaarif en Rabia Arif Sun, 04 Oct 2026 17:16:08 +0000 https://dev.to/rabiaaarif/ai-based-layoff-informator-3n2d https://dev.to/rabiaaarif/ai-based-layoff-informator-3n2d <p>This is my submission for the <a href="https://dev.to/challenges/hacktoberfest-weekend-2026-10-01">Hacktoberfest Weekend Challenge: Build for a Friend</a>.</p> <h2> What I Built </h2> <p>My roommate works in software development and often felt anxious about layoff news.</p> <p>So I built <strong>AI-Based Layoff Informator</strong>—a simple Django app that collects recent tech layoff news, summarizes it with AI, and sends a clear briefing by email.</p> <p>Instead of checking multiple websites every day, users receive:</p> <ul> <li>Important layoff updates</li> <li>Company names and affected employees</li> <li>Reported reasons</li> <li>Links to original sources</li> </ul> <p>The goal is to stay informed without doom-scrolling.</p> <h2> Demo </h2> <p>🎥 <strong>Video demo:</strong> [<a href="https://youtu.be/WvyyZVjem9Ehttps://youtu.be/WvyyZVjem9E" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://youtu.be/WvyyZVjem9Ehttps://youtu.be/WvyyZVjem9E</a>]</p> <p>The demo shows the complete flow—from entering an email address to receiving the AI-generated layoff briefing.</p> <h2> Code </h2> <p>🔗 <strong>GitHub:</strong> <a href="https://github.com/RabiaA-arif/AI-Based-Layoff-Informator" rel="noopener noreferrer">AI-Based Layoff Informator</a></p> <h2> How I Built It </h2> <p>I used:</p> <ul> <li>Python and Django</li> <li>Google News, Bing News, TechCrunch, and Hacker News RSS feeds</li> <li>OpenRouter for AI summarization</li> <li>SMTP for email delivery</li> <li>SQLite for logging delivery results</li> <li>Django tests for reliability</li> </ul> <p>The application filters duplicate and unrelated headlines, validates AI responses, preserves source links, and sends both HTML and plain-text emails.</p> <h2> Why Does Open Innovation Matter? </h2> <p>Open-source tools made it possible to combine news feeds, AI, Django, and email into one useful product.</p> <p>Instead of building another chatbot, I created a tool that solves a real emotional problem for someone close to me. Open innovation also makes it easier for others to improve the project with scheduled briefings, unsubscribe support, user preferences, and more news sources.</p> <h2> Why This Project Matters </h2> <p>This project is personal. I built it to help my roommate—and other tech workers—stay informed about layoffs in a calmer, more organized way.</p> <p>Thank you for checking out my project!</p> devchallenge weekendchallenge hf26challenge ai