The Winning Essays for the Big Questions About AI
17 hours ago
- Jassi Pannu's first-place essay proposes using the OpenAI Foundation to fund a $40-60 billion project to end airborne transmission through far-UVC lamps and other infrastructure, arguing it has dual payoff of everyday benefits and pandemic risk reduction.
- Ege Erdil's second-place essay advises countries outside the AI supply chain to adopt pro-capital policies (strong property rights, low capital taxes, open regulation) to attract investment in an AI-automated world, but notes most countries are too dysfunctional to implement these reforms.
- Michael Li's third-place essay draws an analogy between AI labs and Hong Kong MTR's rail-plus-property model, suggesting labs should capture value from complementary assets (e.g., government-granted data access) rather than relying on API fees.
- The article includes commentary criticizing Michael Li's essay as incoherent and Ege Erdil's policies as likely to fail, while praising Jassi's essay as most convincing.