🔷 $1m in cash + compute now available via
Truth-seeking (Cosmos x FIRE) grant round
Truth-seeking: Cosmos x FIRE
Truth-seeking:
Cosmos x FIRE
Will AI sharpen our thinking and become a partner in seeking truth — or will it quietly control what we’re allowed to see?
We believe AI should empower open inquiry, not suppress it.
That’s why Cosmos Institute and FIRE are funding early-stage projects that advance truth-seeking.
Will AI sharpen our thinking and become a partner in seeking truth — or will it quietly control what we’re allowed to see?
We believe AI should empower open inquiry, not suppress it.
That’s why Cosmos Institute and FIRE are funding early-stage projects that advance truth-seeking.
Details
Grant pool: $1 million (cash + Prime Intellect compute credits)
Typical award: $1k-10k fast grants (larger amounts considered for exceptional proposals)
Community access: Connect with a vetted network of builders and thinkers at the AI × philosophy frontier—advisors, mentors, and past grantees
Duration: 90 day period for the development of a working prototype
Application window: Rolling review with decisions in ~3 weeks
Austin symposium (December '25): Top projects funded by the Fall will be invited to demo; selection is competitive and at the program’s discretion.
Details
Grant pool: $1 million (cash + Prime Intellect compute credits)
Typical award: $1k-10k fast grants (larger amounts considered for exceptional proposals)
Community access: Connect with a vetted network of builders and thinkers at the AI × philosophy frontier—advisors, mentors, and past grantees
Duration: 90 day period for the development of a working prototype
Application window: Rolling review with decisions in ~3 weeks
Austin symposium (December '25): Top projects funded by the Fall will be invited to demo; selection is competitive and at the program’s discretion.
Join our newsletter to be updated about further rounds and opportunities.
Ready to apply?
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Why this matters
AI already drafts your sentences, sorts your inbox, and picks your next song. Soon, the same technology could determine which ideas ever reach your mind — or form within it. Two futures lie ahead:
In one, AI becomes a shadow censor. Hidden ranking rules throttle dissent, and liability fears chill speech. Default recommendations and flattering prompts dull our judgment, and people stop asking “why.” That is algorithmic tyranny.
In the other, AI works as a partner in truth-seeking: it surfaces counter-arguments, flags open questions, and prompts us to check the evidence. Errors are chipped away. Knowledge grows. Our freedom and habit to question stays intact, and even thrives.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. AI currently guides about one-fifth of our waking hours. It authors our contracts, diagnoses our diseases, and even ghost-writes our laws. The principles coded into these systems are becoming the hidden structure that shapes human thought.
Why this matters
AI already drafts your sentences, sorts your inbox, and picks your next song. Soon, the same technology could determine which ideas ever reach your mind — or form within it. Two futures lie ahead:
In one, AI becomes a shadow censor. Hidden ranking rules throttle dissent, and liability fears chill speech. Default recommendations and flattering prompts dull our judgment, and people stop asking “why.” That is algorithmic tyranny.
In the other, AI works as a partner in truth-seeking: it surfaces counter-arguments, flags open questions, and prompts us to check the evidence. Errors are chipped away. Knowledge grows. Our freedom and habit to question stays intact, and even thrives.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. AI currently guides about one-fifth of our waking hours. It authors our contracts, diagnoses our diseases, and even ghost-writes our laws. The principles coded into these systems are becoming the hidden structure that shapes human thought.
Focus areas
1. Marketplace of ideas. Can we build systems that uphold free expression and the open contestation of ideas?
Admit mistakes. History’s abandoned “truths”—from Earth-centered astronomy to debunked racial hierarchies—prove that no authority escapes error.
Welcome opposing views. Ideas improve only when challenged by strong counterarguments, and complex issues rarely fit a single perspective.
Regularly question even accepted truths. Even correct beliefs lose their force unless frequently re-examined.
For more, see Mill’s Trident.
2. Promoting inquiry. Can we build AI tools that challenge our thinking and refine our arguments, rather than delivering pre-cooked answers?
Ask before you answer. Wisdom starts with questions that expose what you don’t yet know.
Test with opposition. Ideas sharpen only after sparring with credible counter-arguments.
Trace the reasoning. Following every step from premise to conclusion prevents blind acceptance and sparks the next round of inquiry.
For more, see The Philosophic Turn for AI Agents.
Focus areas
1. Marketplace of ideas. Can we build systems that uphold free expression and the open contestation of ideas?
Admit mistakes. History’s abandoned “truths”—from Earth-centered astronomy to debunked racial hierarchies—prove that no authority escapes error.
Welcome opposing views. Ideas improve only when challenged by strong counterarguments, and complex issues rarely fit a single perspective.
Regularly question even accepted truths. Even correct beliefs lose their force unless frequently re-examined.
For more, see Mill’s Trident.
2. Promoting inquiry. Can we build AI tools that challenge our thinking and refine our arguments, rather than delivering pre-cooked answers?
Ask before you answer. Wisdom starts with questions that expose what you don’t yet know.
Test with opposition. Ideas sharpen only after sparring with credible counter-arguments.
Trace the reasoning. Following every step from premise to conclusion prevents blind acceptance and sparks the next round of inquiry.
For more, see The Philosophic Turn for AI Agents.
Illustrative projects
AI challenger that pokes holes in your presuppositions, then coaches you forward.
Debate arena where open, swappable AI models debate in plain view under a live prediction-market score.
Tamper-proof logbook that stamps every answer an AI model gives onto a public ledger, so nothing can be quietly erased and every change is visible to all.
Truth-seeking eval that tests AI systems' ability to tolerate different views and make intellectual progress in an environment like Concordia.
These ideas are starting points, not guidelines. If your project advances truth-seeking in a novel way, we want to see it.
Illustrative projects
AI challenger that pokes holes in your presuppositions, then coaches you forward.
Debate arena where open, swappable AI models debate in plain view under a live prediction-market score.
Tamper-proof logbook that stamps every answer an AI model gives onto a public ledger, so nothing can be quietly erased and every change is visible to all.
Truth-seeking eval that tests AI systems' ability to tolerate different views and make intellectual progress in an environment like Concordia.
These ideas are starting points, not guidelines. If your project advances truth-seeking in a novel way, we want to see it.
Go deeper
Read our op-ed to explore the why behind our truth-seeking AI grants program.
Receive new content and ideas on AI and truth-seeking by subscribing below.
Go deeper
Read our op-ed to explore the why behind our truth-seeking AI grants program.
Receive new content and ideas on AI and truth-seeking by subscribing below.
Go deeper
Read our op-ed to explore the why behind our truth-seeking AI grant program.
Receive new content and ideas on AI and truth-seeking by subscribing below.
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