IONS award recognizes visionary work in conscious AI

NOVATO, Calif., Nov. 15, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) will announce the winners of the third annual Linda G. O'Bryant Noetic Sciences Research Prize at a special public event, "From Algorithm to Awareness: A Noetic Exploration of Conscious AI", on Friday, November 21, 2025. This year's theme, How to Conceive of a Conscious AI, builds on IONS' legacy of advancing theories that challenge conventional, materialist assumptions about the mind. The 2025 prize supports innovative research in developing frameworks for AI systems that incorporate key attributes similar to human consciousness, such as self-awareness, moral values, adaptive decision-making, and more.

According to IONS President Thomas Brophy and Executive Chair Claudia Welss, IONS created this year's Linda G. O'Bryant Prize to bring urgent attention to noetic principles within the rapidly advancing field of artificial intelligence, and to invigorate a largely overlooked subfield of AI research called artificial consciousness. Humanity may now have only a short window of opportunity to shape how we coexist with this emerging non-human intelligence. Attending to the consciousness and noetic dimensions of AI development will be critical to navigating this challenge wisely.

The prize aims to address the philosophical, ethical, and societal implications of creating conscious AI, and to steer the development of artificial general intelligence toward a paradigm of benevolence and compassion.

Researchers, engineers, philosophers, and interdisciplinary teams around the globe submitted fifty-six proposals, leading to a highly competitive selection process. The winners were selected following two rounds of rigorous evaluation by a multidisciplinary panel of expert judges.

The $100,000 award will be shared equally by three winners for their groundbreaking proposals that explore theoretical frameworks and empirical methods for conceiving of and assessing conscious artificial intelligence systems.

The ten judges include IONS scientists Arnaud Delorme, Garret Yount, Dean Radin, and Helané Wahbeh, alongside invited distinguished experts in AI infrastructure, cognitive neuroscience, ethics, and philanthropy, including Julia Mossbridge, Jonathan Schooler, Ron Cline, Prashant Kancherla, Shilpa Shetty, and Nipun Mehta. Each judge contributes a unique perspective on the challenge of designing and evaluating truly conscious AI systems, and this collaboration ensured that both scientific merit and noetic insight were fully considered in selecting the top three winners. As a final step in the process, the IONS Board of Directors reviewed the selection and provided its endorsement.

The winners will be officially announced and present their visionary frameworks at the special public event on Friday, November 21, 2025, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PST. To register for the free event or to watch the recording, visit noetic.org/prize.

About the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS)

The Institute of Noetic Sciences is a nonprofit scientific research center and direct experience lab specializing in the intersection of science and profound human experience. Founded in 1973 by Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell, IONS investigates consciousness, interconnectedness, and extended human capacities to help foster a more compassionate and thriving world. Learn more at noetic.org.

Media Contact

Leslie Girone Lovejoy, Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), 1 707-775-3500, communications@noetic.org, www.noetic.org

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SOURCE Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS)