Prizes are good

Not only to receive, but to make the world better

Feb 13, 2024

∙ Paid

Earlier this month, we wrote about the Vesuvius Challenge, which put up, and then awarded, a monetary prize for smart people to decipher scrolls.

Herculaneum Scrolls

EJG

Feb 6

I plan to do a future Good Thing on innovation prizes and how they are a clever way to solve problems and advance culture. But today, let’s focus on one specific prize and what benefits modern life has thanks to its very good winners and winning product.

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Today we want to highlight another example of GOOD prizing.

The well-named “Training For Good” endeavor is handing out Tarbell Fellowships. The parent group is a full-funded philanthropic fellowship empowering prospective early-career journalists who seek to cover the field of AI and other emergent, impactful technologies.

Imagine brilliant minds wanting to tackling issues like AI, like animal welfare or global poverty – but they are stuck on the sidelines, lacking a clear path to make their impact. That's the challenge Training For Good is trying to help surmount.

By matching up early-career individuals with incredible, foundational opportunities this group is allowing the next generation of journalists to:

Make a Direct Impact: Tackle critical problems, and address accelerating cultural progress like never before.

Develop Networks and new Teamwork Modalities: Picture a team tackling all angles of global challenges, with mentors, contributors and collaborators.

Multiple Paths: Different people, different strengths. Maximizing journalisms impact and personal fulfillment by finding and enhancing professional fits.

But with this massive new technology injected into our lives, we also need people to report on it. To document the moment and add perspective and breadth.

In specific, the Tarbell Fellowship offers:

A 9-month placement in an actual newsroom.
Learning on AI Governence
A fundamental education on undergirding technology
A two week summit at Oxford University
A stipend to help support prospective journalists.

Most people are sure that AI is going to be a net-positive in the lives of most people. But we need people to keep us informed about it, about what it brings about and we need these people to be informed and communicative.

That’s the role of journalism, and on a subject as important and impactful as Artificial Intelligence having a foundation that is facilitating this is a good thing.

More on the Training For Good team after the break

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