2026-07-10 –, AI Barn
A short talk on what we've learned from vibecoders participating in our Lambda Prize program, a developer incentive program for Logos. And why human builders still matter even when AI can write the code.
Recently, we launched Lambda Prize, a developer incentive program for the Logos ecosystem where we offer competitive prizes for building privacy-preserving infrastructure. Modeled after the XPRIZE, it is first-come-first-served: submit working code that meets criteria, get paid.
We thought that's straightforward and a pretty solid incentive. To our surprise, many vibecoders thought the same as we started to receive AI-generated submissions. It was complete but sloppy code that did pass the stated criteria but didn't integrate properly or had consequential unstated assumptions.
We'll share our experience and how we are trying to filter for and promote high quality contributions with reasonable AI usage. As part of that, this talk explores what the rapid AI coding advancements mean for incentive programs designed to fund open source contributions, and conversely what this means for the future of sustaining open infrastructure.
Martin Strobl is an economist at IFT and Logos, focusing on mechanism design, token economics, and coordination mechanisms for decentralized systems. He holds an MA in Economics from CERGE-EI, Prague, and a PhD in Political Economy/Economics from the University of Aarhus. Before joining the IFT, Martin was a researcher at the University of Birmingham.