Global AI agent startup Liner said on Thursday it will hold the first Liner Scholar research contest.

The contest will be held under the theme, "Test what we have believed with papers." Participants will choose an everyday belief or question as a research topic, analyze relevant papers using Liner's academic research AI agent, Liner Scholar, and then write a short paper.

Research topics can include everyday questions such as comparing the learning effects of handwriting and digital note-taking, the impact of listening to music on concentration and the environmental impact of tumblers and disposable cups. Liner Scholar supports prior research searches, comparative analysis, research hypothesis generation, reviews of academic evidence and citation recommendations based on about 500 million academic database entries worldwide.

Liner plans to focus judging on the process of critically reviewing evidence from multiple papers and drawing logical conclusions, rather than accepting AI-provided answers as they are. The contest is open to South Korean nationals aged 14 and older, and entry is free. The application deadline is Oct. 25, and short papers must be submitted as PDF files by Nov. 8. Judging will take place in two stages: paper evaluation and final-round presentations.

Prizes will be awarded to 10 people who submit outstanding papers: 1 MacBook, 4 iPads and 5 AirPods. All applicants will receive 2,500 credits that can be used on the Liner service. Those who submit papers by the deadline will be issued certificates of participation.

Liner CEO Jin-woo Kim (김진우) said he hopes the contest will be an opportunity to verify personal curiosity with academic evidence and complete it as a paper. He said the company will support participants so they can use AI as a co-researcher and experience the enjoyment of asking questions and verifying them on their own.