Research Fellowships on Digital Sentience

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Longview Philanthropy, Macroscopic Ventures, and The Navigation Fund invite applications for fellowships to pursue research in computer science, neuroscience, or other technical disciplines on the potential consciousness, sentience, moral status, or welfare of artificial intelligence systems. We will also consider fellowship applications from exceptional legal scholars or applied social scientists for research on the social implications and legal treatment of potentially sentient AI.

Funding includes one to two years’ salary, research and travel support, networking opportunities, additional benefits, and support for access to computational resources for those conducting compute-intensive machine learning research. We invite both recent PhD graduates and those at advanced career stages to apply. Funding may be disbursed to an academic institution on behalf of the selected fellow, with a comparable compensation package where feasible.

Example Topics

Some topics we would be interested to see applicants explore include the following:

• Proposing computational correlates of consciousness
• Proposing computational correlates of valenced (positive and negative) experiences
• Proposing ways to measure the extent of the above and compare across different systems
• Measuring valenced experience or consciousness in specific computational systems
• Measuring the effects of various changes to computational systems on consciousness or valenced experience
• Testing for AI models’ ability to introspect reliably
• Proposing legal standards for recognising digital minds or otherwise defining their social roles
• Empirical research on how society will interact with sentient AI
• Investigating possible timelines for the development of consciousness in AI and other relevant events

Structure

In general, the fellowship will involve the following:

• For applicants receiving funding through a university, a $55,000 to $100,000 annual salary, a research budget equal to 10% of salary, and standard university fringe benefits
• For applicants receiving funding directly, a $80,000 to $125,000 stipend distributed at the start of each fellowship year, with suggested use of 5-10% for research and conference travel and the remainder for a living stipend, health insurance, and other personal needs
• Invitation to an annual Mind, Ethics, and Policy Summit hosted by the Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy at NYU
• Access to computational resources for those conducting compute-intensive machine learning research

Applicants will have the opportunity to request additional resources to be provided at donors’ discretion. If funding is received by a university to host the selected fellow, payment details will be confirmed with the university to ensure comparable remuneration.

After the first year, further funding will be conditional on verifying the fellow continues to satisfy the programme requirements.

Requirements and selection criteria

Applicants must have or be expected to receive a doctoral degree in computer science, neuroscience, a related technical discipline, or applied social science by the earlier of September 2025 or the start date of the fellowship. For legal scholars, candidates with a JD will be considered. In exceptional cases, we will consider candidates with research experience equivalent to a doctoral degree.

Applications will be selected primarily on the basis of the following criteria:

• A demonstrated interest in digital sentience and related issues based on application answers, prior work, and references. Ideal applicants would be able to demonstrate an understanding of the interactions between digital sentience and AI-related existential risk, and would be committed to high-impact work of plausible practical relevance.
• Evidence of research promise, as demonstrated by publications, conferences, other academic achievements, and references

We are not interested in funding specific research proposals—these will mainly assist us in evaluating the two criteria above.

Fellowship awards may be contingent on an institutional affiliation or attendance at fellowship events. In some cases, we may refer applicants to potential hosts. Acceptance of a referred placement may be a condition of the fellowship.

Applications must be compliant with all relevant local laws, and applicants must be located in countries where Longview is able to make grants, as listed in the application form.