Last-Minute Halloween Costumes for Tech Nerds: 2026 Edition

It happens to the best of us — you've completely dropped the ball on figuring out a Halloween costume. Naturally, you've decided to solve this problem by turning to… TechCrunch? Yeah, sure, why not. Here are some last-minute techy Halloween costume ideas, with varying effort levels.

Recursive Self-Improvement

AI leaders like Dario Amodei and Sam Altman have expressed fears that AI is developing too quickly. But if AI models become capable of "recursive self-improvement," they'll be able to advance on their own without human intervention, rendering any efforts to "pace the frontier" futile.

Admittedly, visually representing an AI that builds itself is tricky. So lean into the "self-improvement" part and forget the "recursive" aspect — it's a last-minute Halloween costume. You don't need to try that hard.

Dress as the version of yourself you imagine becoming every year when you make New Year's resolutions. Carry around a self-help or productivity book like Atomic Habits or anything by Malcolm Gladwell, plus a yoga mat and a huge bottle of water. Leave in the middle of the party to "go to therapy" when you actually just want to go home. Brag to people about how good your Oura Ring's sleep score is.

You are the embodiment of someone trying to better themselves. You are recursive self-improvement.

Image Credits: aldomurillo / Getty Images

A Deceptively Cute AI Agent

Meta and OpenAI both recently launched AI assistants with creepily cute avatars. It's almost Elizabeth Holmes-esque — they look innocent, so you underestimate their potential to cause disaster. (While we're on the subject: you're only allowed to do the black turtleneck Holmes costume if you're a natural blonde, or if you have a blonde wig.)

For this costume, make yourself look big and fluffy. Maybe you have a poofy puffer jacket, or maybe you can find some colorful feather boas to wrap yourself in. Add a distinctive hat, glasses, or other accessory to make yourself look more like a ChatGPT Dot. If you have a colorful shirt and matching bottoms, that also works.

Throughout the night, ask people if you can obtain re…

via TechCrunch AI