Hacker News Reader

The issue I have with this type of thing is that it is difficult to work on the goal if you don't already have the funding to do so. This then incentivises institutions like Universities that can front that cost to work on it, and disincentivises independent people from getting together to work on the problem, or from hiring people to help out on the project.

View on HN

Also, a sustainable model, even at large universities, would need to have a source for funding the up-front work. Most obvious source would be to tax the prize money. Long-term, I'm not sure what the end-game would look like, but I have a lot of doubts.

This could work in certain sector, like drug discovery.

Right now, a drug company (like Pfizer) will spend a billion dollars, then if successful, they have a patent and have to recuperate their investment before expiration (meanwhile, patients and their insurance providers are paying the premium, and those who can't, can't get the drug). But (depending on where you stand politically), these drugs have some public good, and it could be more direct to award prize money, then remove any restrictions on the drug after discovery.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com