Cosmos Institute (@cosmos

Cosmos Institute

878 posts

Cosmos Institute

@cosmos_inst

The Academy for Philosopher-Builders. Building AI for human flourishing. Writing at blog.cosmos-institute.org

Austin, TX

cosmos-institute.org

Joined September 2023

Pinned
Cosmos Institute
@cosmos_inst
Jul 16, 2025
The AI age demands a new kind of technologist: The Philosopher-Builder.
Brendan McCord 🏛️ x 🤖
@Brendan_McCord
Jul 16, 2025
Every builder's first duty is philosophical: to decide what they should build for. AI is beginning to decide what ideas reach your mind—your next action, your next job, your next relationship. It will tempt you to outsource your thinking in ways you’ve never been tempted before.
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Cosmos Institute
@cosmos_inst
Jul 25, 2025
The 2025 Philosopher-Builder Summer Reading List: We asked some of the sharpest minds in our network—from @tylercowen to @FutureJurvetson to Cosmos fellows and AI researchers—for their top book recommendations connecting philosophical questions to modern building.
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Cosmos Institute
@cosmos_inst
Jul 16, 2025
Our civilization’s new epistemic infrastructure is being built. This demands builders in the spirit of Franklin who fuse deep thinking about human flourishing with the ability to engineer systems that advance it.
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Cosmos Institute
@cosmos_inst
Jul 31, 2025
“Technology is not pre-determined. It’s contingent.” Cosmos Grants co-lead @jasonzhao on: 🔹 The need for philosophical inquiry in technology 🔹 Thousand-year time scales 🔹 Building things that last
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Cosmos Institute
@cosmos_inst
Sep 4, 2024
Cosmos Institute is live 🚀
Brendan McCord 🏛️ x 🤖
@Brendan_McCord
Sep 4, 2024
The world creates moments when philosophy matters. 250 years ago, America's founders turned philosophy into law. Today, our revolutionary AI moment demands translating philosophy into code, to promote human flourishing. The Cosmos Institute launches to tackle this challenge:
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Cosmos Institute
@cosmos_inst
Jul 15, 2025
How will AI impact human autonomy? Cosmos and @Liberty_Fund hosted a seminar on AI & Human Autonomy. We’re sharing the full reading list + top takeaways, featuring works from Aristotle to Sartre to today’s AI researchers.
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Cosmos Institute
@cosmos_inst
Sep 25, 2025
Tomorrow: a new long-read from @SebKrier on - decentralization and AGI - drawing on Coase’s vision of voluntary bargaining - Ostrom’s lessons on local governance. Subscribe to get it straight in your inbox ↓
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Cosmos Institute
@cosmos_inst
Nov 12, 2025
5 of our favorite AI tools to help accelerate scholarly research: 1/ Refine - scan research papers for correctness, clarity and consistency; depth beats ChatGPT/Claude @ben_golub
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Cosmos Institute
@cosmos_inst
Aug 18, 2025
Delighted to welcome @lawhsw as Cosmos’ Editorial Lead. The Cosmos team is growing fast — expect more: 🔹Essays 🔹Grants 🔹Events 🔹Ways to help steer AI towards human flourishing
harry law (hopfield network truther)
@lawhsw
Aug 18, 2025
Last week I joined @cosmos_inst, where I’ll be working with @mbrendan1 and the team to research and write about how AI can help us live the good life. Every big technological shift has forced us to rethink what it means to live well, and Cosmos is one of a handful of groups
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Cosmos Institute
@cosmos_inst
Sep 4, 2025
The promise of intelligence is not obedience but autonomy — the cultivated capacity for self-direction. If we hand our judgment to machines, we trade away the very thing that makes human flourishing possible.
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Cosmos Institute
@cosmos_inst
Jul 30, 2025
“I don't think AI threatens human flourishing by becoming conscious, I think it does so because humans become unconscious - by which I mean they gradually surrender their capacity for self-direction."
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Cosmos Institute
@cosmos_inst
Aug 15, 2025
Congratulations to the first cohort of Cosmos × @thefireorg’s AI x Truth-Seeking grant recipients! 27 builders advancing open inquiry and intellectual freedom in AI.
Brendan McCord 🏛️ x 🤖
@Brendan_McCord
Aug 15, 2025
Announcing the first cohort of AI x Truth-Seeking grant recipients: Proud to build this partnership between @cosmos_inst and @TheFIREorg. From 300+ strong applications, we chose 27 builders to pilot approaches for AI to strengthen open inquiry and intellectual freedom. Our
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Cosmos Institute
@cosmos_inst
Nov 4, 2025
11 articles & papers we read this month 👇 1. ChatGPT and the Meaning of Life - @LedermanHarvey
scottaaronson.blog
ChatGPT and the Meaning of Life: Guest Post by Harvey Lederman
Scott Aaronson’s Brief Foreword: Harvey Lederman is a distinguished analytic philosopher who moved from Princeton to UT Austin a few years ago. Since his arrival, he’s become one of my …
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Cosmos Institute
@cosmos_inst
Jul 18, 2025
“Technology can be a force for significant human flourishing—but that isn't necessarily the default. We have to work to make that the case.” Cosmos Grants co-lead —and philosopher-builder— @komorama on intentional computing, AI as an extension of the individual, and the moral
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