When Machines Can Think, Who Will Choose What Matters?
For the first time in history, machines can work with ideas alongside us. They can summarize books, draft research papers, and simulate expertise with dazzling fluency—a triumph of human ingenuity.
Yet as machines perfect the mechanics of knowledge, the burden of wisdom shifts back to us. Who will decide what’s worth knowing—and why it matters? That question drives a new partnership between the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) and the Cosmos Institute. Together we’re launching the AI-Accelerated Scholarship Program—helping scholars use AI to deepen discovery while keeping the human mind at the center of inquiry.
“AI should not replace human judgment; it should refine it,” said Brendan McCord, founder and chair of the Cosmos Institute. “By equipping scholars to use AI as a tool for inquiry rather than imitation, we can return academia to the active work of thinking.”
“Artificial intelligence can extend the reach of our minds. At the same time, we humans do the moral and intellectual work of judgment,” said Emily Chamlee-Wright, president and CEO of the Institute for Humane Studies. “This program embodies our conviction that the life of the mind is among those attributes that make us fully human—that discernment, humility, and the courage to ask hard questions are what make inquiry free.”
The program is designed not just to introduce new tools, but to preserve an old faculty: judgment. Participants will learn to use AI critically—to question its sources, test its reasoning, and defend their own. By doing so, they keep inquiry human: not merely producing arguments that sound intelligent, but ones that are intelligent, because they arise from conviction, evidence, and care for the truth.
The program reflects this commitment in what it offers:
- Funding for AI-powered research tools — freeing scholars’ time to focus on the creative, interpretive, and moral dimensions of research.
- Training and best practices for responsible, rigorous AI use — cultivating habits of discernment and intellectual independence.
- Access to IHS’s ScholarsEdge research hub — connecting scholars committed to using technology without surrendering judgment.
- A community of early adopters — exploring how technology can strengthen free and open inquiry rather than erode it.
At stake is nothing less than whether human judgment remains at the heart of learning.
Applications are now open through IHS’s Expense Support program, with priority consideration for scholars who apply by December 1, 2025.
