Bringing trust into information flow through the internet can get you awarded if you help differentiate between fact, misinformation, and deliberate disinformation.
A few weeks ago, the Aspen Institute's Commission on Information Disorder had released its final report on the dangers and consequences of internet dis- and misinformation.
Now the West Coast incubator Aspen Tech Policy Hub has launched the Information Disorder Prize Competition, which seeks to fund projects that work toward one or more of the Commission’s 15 recommendations. Up to 5 semi-finalists will be awarded $5,000 each to develop prototypes of their deliverables over an 8-week period, after which one team will be awarded a $75,000 grand prize to execute their idea.
America is in a crisis of trust and truth. Bad information has become as prevalent, persuasive, and persistent as good information, creating a chain reaction of harm. It makes any health crisis more deadly. It slows down response time to climate change. It undermines democracy.
And that was why the Commission was created, says the website.
Co-chaired by award-winning journalist Katie Couric, cybersecurity expert Chris Krebs, and civil rights leader Rashad Robinson, the Commission is composed of a diverse group from across the political spectrum, representing academia, government, philanthropy, and civil society. Over the course of six months, commissioners held internal discussions and heard from experts, community leaders, academics, researchers, tech industry representatives, and lawmakers to understand and explore the multidimensional attributes of information disorder.
The report made 15 recommendations to help the government, the private sector, and society increase transparency and understanding, build trust and reduce the harms caused by untrustworthy information.
The recommendations fall into three broad categories:
- Increasing Transparency and Understanding
- Building Trust
- Reducing Harms
The deadline for proposal applications is Jan. 10, 2022.
Project teams are invited to propose a new, untested solution that helps a particular report recommendation. The range of deliverables could be anything from new technologies and inventions to research projects and policy proposals. “Creativity is welcomed; projects should not feel constrained by these deliverables,” the institute stated in the press release announcing the competition.
The Aspen Tech Policy Hub, with support from Craig Newmark Philanthropies and ex/ante (an initiative of Schmidt Futures), seeks to fund unique and innovative projects that make meaningful progress towards ending information disorder, in direct connection to one or more of the Commission’s 15 recommendations. Applicants submitting ideas for novel technology enterprises for this program will also be considered for additional funding through ex/ante, a design lab incubating technology to advance free societies.
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