The Speculist

This is huge:

The X Prize Foundation and the World Technology Network announced today the formation of a joint venture to launch a series of technology incentive prizes to help spur innovation and breakthroughs in a range of scientific arenas. The creation of new X Prize awards follows the success of the twin SpaceShipOne flights that snagged the $10 million Ansari X Prize purse. However, these are focused on other arenas, such as medicine, environment, energy, nanotechnology, and informatics.

FuturePundit has more details, including a handy breakdown of some of the proposed prizes:

1. Transportation: Demonstration of a 4-seat vehicle able to achieve 200 miles per gallon in a cross country race

2. Nanotechnology: Construction of a pre-determined molecule by an assembler

3. Aging deceleration: Extension of mammal life, or demonstrated evidence of aging reversal

4. Education: Demonstration of a self-sufficient education facility able to operate independently and educate villagers anywhere on the planet

Randall Parker comments:

The X Prize success demonstrates that prize money can be a very effective tool for accelerating the advance of science and technology. I favor aging research prizes aimed at the development of effective rejuvenation treatments most of all. But another class of prizes that deserves support are prizes for achievements in developing new energy technologies. What would be useful milestones in the development of better energy technologies? Keep in mind that ideal milestones should be achievable by fairly small teams of engineers and scientists.

Of course, there have always been rich financial rewards associated with helping to bring about the next stage of technological development. But there does seem to be something especially effective about putting a prize in place and encouraging teams to try to be the first to achieve some milestone. As we saw in the example set by the X Prize, there are no losers. Even the teams who don't win the prize stand to reap substantial rewards.

Randall is taking suggestions for additional competitions. I have a few thoughts:

1. A prize for the first team to create a computer that passes the Turing Test.
2. Related to one of Randall's ideas, a prize for demonstrating a practical means of extracting hydrogen from the atmosphere and/or the development of a hydrogen fuel cell.
3. A prize for achieving some specific accomplishment in robotics. Say, building a robot that can iron a shirt.
4. Related to an item reported earlier this week, a prize for demonstrating a low-cost automated means of scanning millions of books.

What else?