Consortium for Digital Sentience Research and Applied Work
Longview Philanthropy, Macroscopic Ventures, and The Navigation Fund invite applications for research or public education on the potential consciousness, sentience, moral status, or experiences of artificial intelligence systems through the funding opportunities listed below.
Motivation
Leading researchers in academia and AI companies have recently raised the possibility that AI models could soon be sentient. Everyday users of AI models sometimes deliberately treat them with kindness. Given the rapid development and spread of artificial intelligence, the questions of whether and when AI will be sentient, and how humanity should interact with potentially sentient AI, are becoming increasingly important.
Social understanding of emerging technologies may play a significant role in shaping the future. Currently, however, no established framework or reliable method exists for determining whether an AI system is sentient. In light of accelerating technological progress and future projections, we aim to support people working on these challenges. Careful work on digital sentience could inform decisions made by important institutions, shape the design of AI systems, or make social decision-making more sensible in unforeseen ways. We would like to ensure that digital beings, if they exist, flourish rather than suffer, and that AI systems promote wellbeing.
If you are interested in starting an organisation, project, or independent activity not covered by one of the other funding opportunities, please submit a response to our request for proposals. Funding may include seed grants for new organisations, the establishment of new programmes at existing organisations, support for applied academic work, and other relevant projects.
Apply NowIf you have a doctoral degree or equivalent career experience in computer science, neuroscience, or another technical discipline, we encourage you to apply to our fellowships for research on digital sentience. We may fund additional fellowships for legal scholars or applied social scientists. Funding includes salary, research and travel support, networking opportunities, and support for access to substantial computational resources for those conducting compute-intensive machine learning research.
Apply NowIf you are interested in spending a few months pivoting your career to work on digital sentience, please apply to career transition fellowships on digital sentience. Fellows will receive a living stipend, networking opportunities, and possible assistance in access to computational resources.
Apply Now