Write for the Cosmos Institute

We’re looking for pitches about how AI can support human flourishing

Every big technological shift has forced us to rethink what it means to live well. Writing displaced virtues of memory with virtues of interpretation, the printing press shifted authority from oral tradition to the judgment of individual readers, and industrial machinery reordered the balance between work, leisure, and family life. Now it’s AI’s turn.

AI’s greatest promise is to advance human flourishing, but to deliver on it we need philosopher-builders that know why to build as well as what to build. We’re interested in writing that helps us make sense of our current moment, organized around five core themes:

1. Truth-seeking: the ability to inquire openly and correct our errors.

2. Human autonomy: the cultivated capacity for self-direction.

3. Decentralization: systems that resist coercion, capture, and control.

4. History: the intellectual origins of technology, especially AI.

5. Philosophy and AI: applying philosophical ideas to AI development.

How to pitch us

We’re offering $1,000 each for essays around 2,000 words in length to be published on our Substack. If you think you can write one, please send us three short paragraphs summarizing your article using this form.

If we are interested, we will ask you for an outline made up of one page of bullet points. This should build out your argument in more detail, introducing a range of relevant examples, anecdotes or figures that support your argument. We would also like to know which thinkers or resources, if any, you might like to engage in your piece. Should your outline be a good fit, we will be in touch to agree on a deadline for a first draft, and plan to publish the finished piece once both parties are happy with it.

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Cosmos Institute is the Academy for Philosopher-Builders, technologists building AI for human flourishing. We run fellowships, fund fast prototypes, and host seminars with institutions like Oxford, Aspen Institute, and Liberty Fund.