The Petrov Prize for wise decision-making under pressure
Epistemic Institutions, Values and Reflective Processes
On September 26, 1983, Stanislav Petrov singlehandedly averted a nuclear war when he decided to wait for more evidence before reporting an apparent launch of ICBMs aimed at the Soviet Union. The incident was later determined to be a false alarm caused by an equipment malfunction. While Petrov’s story is one of the most dramatic examples ever of impactful decision-making under pressure, there are plenty of other people and organizations throughout history whose choices have deeply shaped the long-term future. This prize would seek out recent instances of good judgment in high-stakes environments and generously reward the individuals, teams, and/or institutions involved, so that their stories can both serve as an inspiration to others and promote broader adoption of strong decision-making principles and practices when they matter most.
The Petrov Prize for wise decision-making under pressure
Epistemic Institutions, Values and Reflective Processes
On September 26, 1983, Stanislav Petrov singlehandedly averted a nuclear war when he decided to wait for more evidence before reporting an apparent launch of ICBMs aimed at the Soviet Union. The incident was later determined to be a false alarm caused by an equipment malfunction. While Petrov’s story is one of the most dramatic examples ever of impactful decision-making under pressure, there are plenty of other people and organizations throughout history whose choices have deeply shaped the long-term future. This prize would seek out recent instances of good judgment in high-stakes environments and generously reward the individuals, teams, and/or institutions involved, so that their stories can both serve as an inspiration to others and promote broader adoption of strong decision-making principles and practices when they matter most.
Note the Future of Life Award, which has been going for the last 5 years - https://futureoflife.org/future-of-life-award/
Given to Arkhipov, Petrov, Meselson, Foege & Zhranov, Farman & Solomon & Andersen
Here is a variation on the suggestion—boosting the FLI Award to be more like a Nobel!