Cosmos Institute launches £20,000 essay prize on AI agents and human judgment
chalmermagne · x · 2026-10-20
Cosmos Institute, partnering with London-based AI lab Inherent, launched an essay contest on "AI for human judgment" with up to £20,000 in prizes plus a London event.
The core tension: AI agents can absorb organizational information, represent preferences, and negotiate agreements at near-zero cost — potentially rendering reporting hierarchies, compartmentalization, and planning rhythms obsolete while boosting productivity, but leaving individuals more isolated and exercising judgment less.
Essays of up to 1,000 words must address one of two prompts: how AI could solve a specific coordination problem that has dogged human organizations, or describe a concrete AI system that would strengthen human autonomy when implemented in an organization. Judges include Luis Garicano (LSE), Gavin Leech, Divya Siddarth, and Chris Summerfield (Oxford).
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