[zeroxfe]

> This is hugely under-paid for a worthy winner. AI startups are sold way more these days;

Sure, but AI startups also crash and burn. This seems like a lower barrier to 500k than going to a startup.

> Additionally, a prize of $1 million will be awarded to the winning team’s university if their socialbot achieves the grand challenge of conversing coherently and engagingly with humans on popular topics for 20 minutes.

This does bother me too, but I can see how it incentivizes universities to up their game.

[dpc59]

Universities already have incentive to up their game in the form of being an university. The potential to get a million dollars if they maybe win some contest is a complete abstraction to the people who manage the establishments finances.