Digital minds may become one of the most consequential issues of the future — and the world needs people prepared to navigate it. We're launching the Digital Minds Fellowship, a fully funded week-long program at Cambridge for 15 participants looking to build careers in digital minds/AI welfare. Applications open now, deadline March 27.
Why this fellowship?
Unlike more established fields such as AI safety and governance, the digital minds field is still nascent. Identifying promising research questions is harder, career paths are less clear, and the community is smaller.
Program structure
The fellowship runs August 3–9, 2026 at Jesus College, Cambridge, and has three modules:
- Philosophical & Technical Foundations (2 days, led by Derek Shiller, Rethink Priorities) — covering LLM architectures, philosophical frameworks for consciousness and moral status, and what current systems might (and might not) imply for cognition and experience.
- Societal Implications & Strategy (2 days, led by me) — scenario planning, intervention design, policy frameworks, public communication, and stakeholder engagement.
- Project Scoping & Career Planning (1 day) — developing well-scoped project ideas and concrete next steps, supported by leading experts.
Fellows are paired with a mentor before the program and will also be invited to the two-day Digital Minds Strategy Workshop (Aug 8–9), alongside senior researchers and field leaders.
Who should apply?
The fellowship is designed for people well-positioned to make meaningful contributions to digital minds research:
- Graduate students, postdocs, and early-career academics — especially those in philosophy working on or adjacent to digital minds
- Professionals in government, policy, or industry who want to shift their focus toward digital minds
- Exceptional earlier-stage individuals with strong demonstrated ability and commitment to the field
What's covered
The fellowship is fully funded: travel, accommodation at Jesus College, and a £1,000 stipend (~$1,366).
How to apply
Applications are open now. The deadline is March 27, 2026.
The fellowship is organized by Cambridge Digital Minds (University of Cambridge) in partnership with Rethink Priorities and PRISM.
Feel free to reach out with any questions at info@digitalminds.cam.
(PS: I don't have enough karma to cross-post this on LessWrong — DM me if you can help!)
