The Chainworks 2022 Writing Contest
Win 1000 € in prize money, get offered a paid internship at Chainworks and jump-start your writing career!
Chainworks is a digital agency that helps innovative companies communicate with their target audiences. We are currently looking for a junior tech writer, and instead of the usual job listing websites or HR agencies, we've decided to organize a contest.
We're looking for talented writers who share our passion for innovative technologies, are attentive to details, and want to earn money via writing. We’re interested in how innovative technologies shape our world, whether it is our society, economics, politics, culture or other aspects of our lives.
Select one of the topics, then write and submit your entry along with an English language CV by the 15th of October 2022. Each of the best three entries will be rewarded with €1000 in prize money. The best writers will also be offered a paid internship at Chainworks, which would feature remote work, flexible hours and writing for some of the most exciting tech companies in the CEE region and beyond!
Contest format
Select one of the topics listed below and write a text document of between 750-1250 words. Below each topic are sample questions written in italics. You may choose to answer one or multiple of these sample questions, or you can invent your own ones. Please note that an entry is not judged by the number of questions it answers, but rather on the quality of the entry itself.
The entries can take the form of an academic paper, an article, a reflective essay, an opinion piece, or even the literary form of a short story. What is key is that participants present their thinking on the given topic in an original and innovative way.
We value quality over word quantity. Please don’t stretch the word count by being too wordy. Try to be concise and get your point across efficiently.
Other criteria include:
Conditions:
Documents:
Chainworks is a digital agency that helps innovative companies communicate with their target audiences. We are currently looking for a junior tech writer, and instead of the usual job listing websites or HR agencies, we've decided to organize a contest.
We're looking for talented writers who share our passion for innovative technologies, are attentive to details, and want to earn money via writing. We’re interested in how innovative technologies shape our world, whether it is our society, economics, politics, culture or other aspects of our lives.
Select one of the topics, then write and submit your entry along with an English language CV by the 15th of October 2022. Each of the best three entries will be rewarded with €1000 in prize money. The best writers will also be offered a paid internship at Chainworks, which would feature remote work, flexible hours and writing for some of the most exciting tech companies in the CEE region and beyond!
Contest format
Select one of the topics listed below and write a text document of between 750-1250 words. Below each topic are sample questions written in italics. You may choose to answer one or multiple of these sample questions, or you can invent your own ones. Please note that an entry is not judged by the number of questions it answers, but rather on the quality of the entry itself.
The entries can take the form of an academic paper, an article, a reflective essay, an opinion piece, or even the literary form of a short story. What is key is that participants present their thinking on the given topic in an original and innovative way.
We value quality over word quantity. Please don’t stretch the word count by being too wordy. Try to be concise and get your point across efficiently.
Other criteria include:
- The content of your entry - does it answer an interesting question related to the topic? Please avoid simply rehashing articles and internet encyclopedia entries and instead make an effort to provide new knowledge for your readers.
- The form of the entry - its readability, the clarity of language, the vocabulary, sentence structure, use of paragraphs, rhythm, and so on. However, this is not a debate competition. You do not have to follow the rigid structure of various standardized essay forms.
- The research you have performed. You do not need to add academic references, but we want to see that you are knowledgeable in the subject you discuss and that you have done the necessary reading before you started writing.
Conditions:
- Born 2000 and later, or proof of current attendance in an undergraduate-level university program or high school.
- Slovak citizenship, or proof of current attendance at a university in Slovakia.
Documents:
- Statute of the Contest / Štatút Súťaže
- Writing Contest Topics
1) Blockchain and Cryptography
1A) Sanctions in the era of cryptocurrencies
The recent war in Ukraine has seen a number of financial sanctions made against major Russian banks, including their partial ban from SWIFT. Such sanctions are a very powerful mechanism that can be used to either discourage states from hostile actions or limit their ability to carry them out. However, the rise of the decentralized finance industry could spell an end to that.
Many states are developing their own digital payment systems, some of which are based on blockchain and can operate independently of SWIFT. For instance, the Chinese government has already launched its own version of an all-digital fiat currency, the digital Renminbi (e-RMB), although it is currently used only for domestic payments. Still, the e-RMB’s success may provide the blueprint for an international fiat currency that could bypass international payment systems.
Example question:
1B) End-to-end encryption and terrorism
Powerful end-to-end encryption (E2EE) is becoming increasingly embedded in smartphones and instant messaging services such as Signal or Telegram. The technology protects the privacy of its users, but it also offers a secure channel for terrorists who have repeatedly organized attacks via E2EE messaging apps.
Governments and international institutions are attempting to challenge the availability of such encryption to the public. Some are requesting their providers to grant them ‘backdoors’ (secret methods of bypassing the encryption) so that they can monitor these channels. Others are banning their citizens from accessing these services in the first place.
On one hand, we have the argument that freely-available encryption protects the individual against the asymmetrical power of the state - for instance, dissidents in authoritarian regimes, or refugees in war zones. On the other, it has been documented as a tool used by terrorists and other malicious actors to commit violence against other people.
Example questions:
The recent war in Ukraine has seen a number of financial sanctions made against major Russian banks, including their partial ban from SWIFT. Such sanctions are a very powerful mechanism that can be used to either discourage states from hostile actions or limit their ability to carry them out. However, the rise of the decentralized finance industry could spell an end to that.
Many states are developing their own digital payment systems, some of which are based on blockchain and can operate independently of SWIFT. For instance, the Chinese government has already launched its own version of an all-digital fiat currency, the digital Renminbi (e-RMB), although it is currently used only for domestic payments. Still, the e-RMB’s success may provide the blueprint for an international fiat currency that could bypass international payment systems.
Example question:
- How can the United States and the European Union maintain the effectiveness of financial sanctions in the era of cryptocurrencies and other independent digital payment systems?
1B) End-to-end encryption and terrorism
Powerful end-to-end encryption (E2EE) is becoming increasingly embedded in smartphones and instant messaging services such as Signal or Telegram. The technology protects the privacy of its users, but it also offers a secure channel for terrorists who have repeatedly organized attacks via E2EE messaging apps.
Governments and international institutions are attempting to challenge the availability of such encryption to the public. Some are requesting their providers to grant them ‘backdoors’ (secret methods of bypassing the encryption) so that they can monitor these channels. Others are banning their citizens from accessing these services in the first place.
On one hand, we have the argument that freely-available encryption protects the individual against the asymmetrical power of the state - for instance, dissidents in authoritarian regimes, or refugees in war zones. On the other, it has been documented as a tool used by terrorists and other malicious actors to commit violence against other people.
Example questions:
- Imagine that you are a political dissident who is leading a resistance movement against an authoritarian regime. What methods, technological concepts and protocols would you use to organize an uprising?
- Imagine that you are a lawmaker in your country. How would you design a policy on message encryption that balances public security with individual privacy?
2) Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
2A) The ethics of drone warfare
Sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov created the fictional three laws of robotics to govern relations between humans and robots, the first of which stated “A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm”.
In our present-day world, we are well past the idea of Asimov’s idealistic vision. Aerial drones (though not fully autonomous) are already playing a major role in modern warfare. They are used to observe enemy positions, help calibrate artillery fire, or even directly engage with enemy combatants.
As the technology behind these drones advances, they constantly require less human oversight. Should the trend continue, we may soon see fully-autonomous ‘Terminator’-style military drones that do not require a human operator and can decide who to kill on their own.
Drone warfare is very popular because it allows political leaders to project force without the political costs of lengthy ground wars. Drones can also provide a more ‘discriminate’ way of killing combatants as the aerial drone of an advanced military can detect potential targets from a distance and, in theory, provide more time to determine if they should or should not be fired upon.
Example questions:
2B) Existential risks of an artificial superintelligence
Advanced AIs tend to be very skilled in a single task or set of related tasks, but weak in most other domains. The next major challenge for AI researchers is to create an artificial general intelligence (AGI) that is more or less as capable as a human being in nearly all domains.
However, the quest to create an AGI, particularly a very advanced one, presents an existential risk to humanity. A very advanced self-learning AI, or a superintelligence, will inevitably overcome its creators in terms of intelligence. Should we try to shut it down, it could perceive humanity as a risk to its continued existence and decide to wipe us out.
Philosopher Nick Bostrom has warned of this threat: “Before the prospect of an intelligence explosion, we humans are like small children playing with a bomb. Such is the mismatch between the power of our plaything and the immaturity of our conduct”. Others, including the European Commission, have made efforts to increase regulation for this rapidly growing industry, while Elon Musk proposed that governments create institutions for the sole purpose of governing the creation of AI.
Example questions:
Sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov created the fictional three laws of robotics to govern relations between humans and robots, the first of which stated “A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm”.
In our present-day world, we are well past the idea of Asimov’s idealistic vision. Aerial drones (though not fully autonomous) are already playing a major role in modern warfare. They are used to observe enemy positions, help calibrate artillery fire, or even directly engage with enemy combatants.
As the technology behind these drones advances, they constantly require less human oversight. Should the trend continue, we may soon see fully-autonomous ‘Terminator’-style military drones that do not require a human operator and can decide who to kill on their own.
Drone warfare is very popular because it allows political leaders to project force without the political costs of lengthy ground wars. Drones can also provide a more ‘discriminate’ way of killing combatants as the aerial drone of an advanced military can detect potential targets from a distance and, in theory, provide more time to determine if they should or should not be fired upon.
Example questions:
- Are autonomous combat drones ethical?
- Can the decision to kill a human being be determined by an algorithm?
- How would you design a global policy on robotic warfare?
2B) Existential risks of an artificial superintelligence
Advanced AIs tend to be very skilled in a single task or set of related tasks, but weak in most other domains. The next major challenge for AI researchers is to create an artificial general intelligence (AGI) that is more or less as capable as a human being in nearly all domains.
However, the quest to create an AGI, particularly a very advanced one, presents an existential risk to humanity. A very advanced self-learning AI, or a superintelligence, will inevitably overcome its creators in terms of intelligence. Should we try to shut it down, it could perceive humanity as a risk to its continued existence and decide to wipe us out.
Philosopher Nick Bostrom has warned of this threat: “Before the prospect of an intelligence explosion, we humans are like small children playing with a bomb. Such is the mismatch between the power of our plaything and the immaturity of our conduct”. Others, including the European Commission, have made efforts to increase regulation for this rapidly growing industry, while Elon Musk proposed that governments create institutions for the sole purpose of governing the creation of AI.
Example questions:
- What kind of government policy would you propose for AI development?
- How can a policy on AI be effectively enforced?
3) Software Engineering
3A) Cyber attacks against critical infrastructure
Critical infrastructure is a catch-all term used to describe systems such as electricity grids, telecommunications networks, water supply, and other assets without which a country cannot properly function. Such systems require software to operate, and wherever there is software, there are also vulnerabilities and potential openings for cyber attacks.
Hackers, whether they are rogue individuals, or state actors, can attack from afar and disable these systems, leading to financial costs or even injuries and deaths. For instance, in 2010, the malicious computer worm known as STUXNET was used to successfully sabotage Iran’s nuclear program.
In a more recent example, the Viasat network of satellite internet was attacked on the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It resulted in the loss of broadband across Europe and even knocked out nearly 6,000 wind turbines in Germany.
Imagine that you are trying to destabilize a country of your choice through cyber attacks against its critical infrastructure.
Note: Feel free to add examples of code, if applicable.
3B) Identifying bugs in complex systems
Poor software quality has cost US businesses $2.08 trillion in 2020. Costs from operational failures, software errors in legacy systems and failed projects are among the losses that span all business sectors. In rare cases, bugs can result in significant financial losses or even life-threatening situations. For instance, if a bug appears in software designed for the air industry, or when telecommunications stop working, and people are unable to call an ambulance.
To avoid bugs, software developers are forced to take numerous precautions and devote additional resources to debugging. However, as software becomes more complex, the potential for harmful bugs also increases.
We are at a point where manual code inspection does not suffice. Programmers have to create special programs (debuggers, bug tracking systems) or employ novel methods to detect and fix errors in code. Software testing and debugging often take more time and effort than writing the program itself.
Please select a case from a real-world situation where a programming bug caused significant problems and answer the following questions in your essay related to this particular case:
Note: Feel free to add examples of code, if applicable.
Critical infrastructure is a catch-all term used to describe systems such as electricity grids, telecommunications networks, water supply, and other assets without which a country cannot properly function. Such systems require software to operate, and wherever there is software, there are also vulnerabilities and potential openings for cyber attacks.
Hackers, whether they are rogue individuals, or state actors, can attack from afar and disable these systems, leading to financial costs or even injuries and deaths. For instance, in 2010, the malicious computer worm known as STUXNET was used to successfully sabotage Iran’s nuclear program.
In a more recent example, the Viasat network of satellite internet was attacked on the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It resulted in the loss of broadband across Europe and even knocked out nearly 6,000 wind turbines in Germany.
Imagine that you are trying to destabilize a country of your choice through cyber attacks against its critical infrastructure.
- What kind of targets would you choose to attack and how would you attack them? Describe the methods, tools and other concepts you would utilize.
Note: Feel free to add examples of code, if applicable.
3B) Identifying bugs in complex systems
Poor software quality has cost US businesses $2.08 trillion in 2020. Costs from operational failures, software errors in legacy systems and failed projects are among the losses that span all business sectors. In rare cases, bugs can result in significant financial losses or even life-threatening situations. For instance, if a bug appears in software designed for the air industry, or when telecommunications stop working, and people are unable to call an ambulance.
To avoid bugs, software developers are forced to take numerous precautions and devote additional resources to debugging. However, as software becomes more complex, the potential for harmful bugs also increases.
We are at a point where manual code inspection does not suffice. Programmers have to create special programs (debuggers, bug tracking systems) or employ novel methods to detect and fix errors in code. Software testing and debugging often take more time and effort than writing the program itself.
Please select a case from a real-world situation where a programming bug caused significant problems and answer the following questions in your essay related to this particular case:
- Why did the bug happen - what mistakes were made by developers, system admins and/or security testers?
- How can organizations protect themselves against such bugs? Describe the methods and software one can use to avoid such issues.
Note: Feel free to add examples of code, if applicable.
4) Medtech and Genetic Engineering
4A) Innovative solutions for the global nurse shortage
There is a global shortage of healthcare workers, and nurses are among the most needed. In most economically developed countries, there is a clear demographic trend towards an aging population. Difficult conditions and an aging workforce, highlighted by the recent pandemic, have created a shortage of nursing staff that will soon become critical. By 2030, the U.S. alone is expected to be in need of an extra 1.1 million registered nurses.
Advancements in medical technology are helping alleviate many problems, so far there hasn’t been an effective solution for the shortage of nurses. Their work includes a large range of tasks with many different variables, and they must also be able to empathize with their patients and provide them with emotional support.
Example question:
4B) Privatized life extension
Throughout human history, death was the great equalizer of both rich and poor. However, medical research and improved quality of life has steadily increased the age at which people die. In the near future, we might even see wealthy individuals living up to hundreds of years, if not longer.
Depending on its costs, life-extending technology might remain affordable only to the wealthy for decades to come, which would further increase the divide between the rich and the poor.
Perhaps life extension does have a role to play - for instance, for astronauts bound for distant planets where the journey would take more than a normal human lifespan, or for essential personnel such as medical staff or engineers in remote areas. However, it could also deepen social inequality, contribute to overpopulation or cause other problems that we can’t predict at this moment.
Example questions:
1. What are the most effective or promising technologies in the realm of human life extension?
2. Should life extension technology be subsidized by the state and provided to everyone equally?
There is a global shortage of healthcare workers, and nurses are among the most needed. In most economically developed countries, there is a clear demographic trend towards an aging population. Difficult conditions and an aging workforce, highlighted by the recent pandemic, have created a shortage of nursing staff that will soon become critical. By 2030, the U.S. alone is expected to be in need of an extra 1.1 million registered nurses.
Advancements in medical technology are helping alleviate many problems, so far there hasn’t been an effective solution for the shortage of nurses. Their work includes a large range of tasks with many different variables, and they must also be able to empathize with their patients and provide them with emotional support.
Example question:
- How would you utilize technology to fix the global nursing shortage?
4B) Privatized life extension
Throughout human history, death was the great equalizer of both rich and poor. However, medical research and improved quality of life has steadily increased the age at which people die. In the near future, we might even see wealthy individuals living up to hundreds of years, if not longer.
Depending on its costs, life-extending technology might remain affordable only to the wealthy for decades to come, which would further increase the divide between the rich and the poor.
Perhaps life extension does have a role to play - for instance, for astronauts bound for distant planets where the journey would take more than a normal human lifespan, or for essential personnel such as medical staff or engineers in remote areas. However, it could also deepen social inequality, contribute to overpopulation or cause other problems that we can’t predict at this moment.
Example questions:
1. What are the most effective or promising technologies in the realm of human life extension?
2. Should life extension technology be subsidized by the state and provided to everyone equally?
5) Space Exploration
5A) Colonizing the solar system
Though we have yet to build a permanent colony in our star system, technological progress may one day allow us to colonize other planets and their moons, possibly even in other planetary systems.
With our growing need for rare-earth elements and other ores and minerals that are scarce on Earth, at least some form of asteroid or extra-planetary mining may be needed to feed our industries. In the case of an asteroid hit, a global nuclear war or other extinction-level events, colonies on other planets could provide humanity with a second chance at life.
Many argue that colonizing other planets is distracting us from the most important issue - we need to focus on preserving Earth. On the other hand, it might also make sense to hedge our bets by colonizing and possibly even terraforming other planets.
Example question:
5B) Mining rights to the Moon and beyond
In 2015, the U.S. Congress passed legislation that provided American companies with exclusive rights to extract and sell natural resources mined on celestial bodies, including the Moon. Last year, NASA awarded contracts to four companies to extract small amounts of lunar regolith by 2024, effectively beginning the era of commercial space mining.
Meanwhile, China has set out to execute a manned mission to the moon by 2030 and is also planning on building a lunar base between 2036 and 2045. Even India’s space program is looking to mine Helium-3 from the Moon’s surface, while many private corporations are eying near-Earth orbital bodies as an easy and very lucrative target for mining, as a single asteroid may contain trillions of dollars worth of metals and minerals.
We are still far from having the technological means of effectively mining celestial bodies, but we are heading towards a point where such activities will be possible. Nations and corporations are already making claims to objects in our Solar System, and with growing tension between superpowers, it is very possible that a major conflict may erupt over this issue.
Example questions:
1. What technologies do we need to start effectively mining asteroids and other celestial bodies?
2. How can we prevent superpowers such as China and US, who are among the few countries with advanced space programs, from carving up the Solar System between themselves?
Though we have yet to build a permanent colony in our star system, technological progress may one day allow us to colonize other planets and their moons, possibly even in other planetary systems.
With our growing need for rare-earth elements and other ores and minerals that are scarce on Earth, at least some form of asteroid or extra-planetary mining may be needed to feed our industries. In the case of an asteroid hit, a global nuclear war or other extinction-level events, colonies on other planets could provide humanity with a second chance at life.
Many argue that colonizing other planets is distracting us from the most important issue - we need to focus on preserving Earth. On the other hand, it might also make sense to hedge our bets by colonizing and possibly even terraforming other planets.
Example question:
- Should we put effort into colonizing other planets while conditions on Earth deteriorate?
- On which planet, moon or other celestial body would you build the first permanent human colony in our Solar System?
5B) Mining rights to the Moon and beyond
In 2015, the U.S. Congress passed legislation that provided American companies with exclusive rights to extract and sell natural resources mined on celestial bodies, including the Moon. Last year, NASA awarded contracts to four companies to extract small amounts of lunar regolith by 2024, effectively beginning the era of commercial space mining.
Meanwhile, China has set out to execute a manned mission to the moon by 2030 and is also planning on building a lunar base between 2036 and 2045. Even India’s space program is looking to mine Helium-3 from the Moon’s surface, while many private corporations are eying near-Earth orbital bodies as an easy and very lucrative target for mining, as a single asteroid may contain trillions of dollars worth of metals and minerals.
We are still far from having the technological means of effectively mining celestial bodies, but we are heading towards a point where such activities will be possible. Nations and corporations are already making claims to objects in our Solar System, and with growing tension between superpowers, it is very possible that a major conflict may erupt over this issue.
Example questions:
1. What technologies do we need to start effectively mining asteroids and other celestial bodies?
2. How can we prevent superpowers such as China and US, who are among the few countries with advanced space programs, from carving up the Solar System between themselves?
How to participate?
Choose one of these topics, write your entry and submit it along with your CV to contest@chainworks.agency by the 15th of October 2022.
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