Essay Prize

The FrankenstAIn Essay Prize will be awarded for the first time at the FrankenstAIn Conference 2026. The prize is sponsored by the "Förderverein Georgianum“.

The prize is aimed at early career researchers – master’s students, doctoral students, and postdocs (no more than four years after PhD defence) – with a strong research interest in:

• Philosophy (ethics, philosophy of technology, epistemology, political philosophy, aesthetics)
• History of philosophy and history of ideas
• Science and technology studies (STS)
• History of science
• Computer science, AI research, human-computer interaction, mathematics
• Behavioural sciences focused on human relation to technologies
• Philosophical aesthetics, including philosophy of fiction, film, and sci-fi

A cash prize of €1,000 will be awarded to the author of the essay that combines philosophical depth, clarity of argument, originality, and relevance to current philosophy of AI debates in an interesting and novel way. Reflections on other cultural-historical themes, as well as connections to Mary Shelley's novel will also be well-received. The essays will be evaluated by an interdisciplinary jury consisting of, among others, the keynote speakers invited to the conference. The winner will also have the opportunity to partake in a panel discussion dedicated to their essay.

*Applicants who wish to be considered for the essay prize please indicate this in the body of the email when submitting your abstract

*If your abstract is accepted, you will then be invited to submit an essay

*Deadline for submission of the essay is September 4th (2026), 23:59 (CET)

*Applicants will be notified by September 25th (2026)

*Essays should not be longer than 3,000 words

Questions & Further Queries

Questions and further queries should be directed to: frankenstAIn-conference@ku.de