Good Ancestors AI Governance Summer Fellowship

The Good Ancestors AI Governance Summer Fellowship, a partnership between Good Ancestors Policy (GAP) and the AI Governance Taskforce, brings participants into the Taskforce to work on targeted AI safety policy and governance research projects. Research fellows will join the AI Governance Taskforce and undertake one of two projects, with policy expertise provided by GAP and research management support from Arcadia Impact.

The AI Governance Taskforce is an initiative that brings together volunteer research teams to conduct policy research on pressing AI governance challenges. The program is intended for people wanting to build skills in AI policy, including testing their fit for this kind of work, to support their career direction, or to consider a change of direction. Over the course of 3-4 months, you will work with a small group of peers on a project aimed at addressing an emerging issue and shaping future action.

Why apply?

The Good Ancestors AI Governance Summer Fellowship will allow you to:

• Gain practical experience and legible credentials in AI policy and governance.
• Produce high-quality research outputs and advocacy strategies that focus on safety in domestic, regional and global AI governance.
• Receive project support from your peer cohort, the program manager, and the CEO throughout the program.
• Promote or publish your work through the GAP network.
• Connect with a community of people interested in AI safety and governance.

Who should apply?

We are looking to create a diverse cohort where what people have in common is an interest in AI policy and governance. We anticipate that most applicants will be in Australia but are open to receiving applications from across the Asia-Pacific.

You might apply if you are a:

• Later-year undergraduate student
• PhD candidate
• Early-career professional
• Mid-career professional interested in transitioning to focus on AI safety and governance

About the Fellowship

Time commitment

The Fellowship will run from approximately December 2024 to March 2025, depending on individual availability and specific project timelines.

Participants should anticipate spending 8-12 hours per week, depending on the project tempo and personal availability.

Throughout the duration of the program, you will check-in:

• With your cohort project team once a week. It will be up to your team to coordinate meeting times and working systems.
• With the program manager once a week. The manager can help with agenda setting, feedback, and other project-related activities.

We will also have Fellowship-wide check-ins and look forward to hearing from you about designing a wrap-up at the end of the Fellowship. More details on these events will be shared with the participants.

Application process

The time costly components of the application form are choosing a document to share, explaining why this document and why you’re interested in the Fellowship. This should take less than 30 minutes to complete.

We will assess applicants based on their responses to the required questions in this form. Depending on the applicants, we may have a second stage of assessment.

The deadline for applicants is December 10, 2024.

Project information

We aim to recruit two or three cohorts of fellows and form working groups of roughly three people across different projects.

During commencement, GAP and the successful applicants will meet to consider a shortlist of projects that are: 1) Australian-specific AI policy and governance ideas that have global implications; and 2) Global AI policy and governance ideas that have a link to Australia. Fellows will be encouraged to consider and share ideas based on their expertise and preferences.

GAP and the program manager will facilitate consultation with contacts and advisors from trusted organisations to finalise project selection and surface key ideas. Projects could include developing a proposal for an Asia-Pacific AI Safety Institute, including looking at lessons learned from comparable regional institutions; searching for international risk management issues that were addressed via multilateral forums and analysing success and failure criteria; or other relevant ideas you and your cohort develop.

Note that this is the first GAP Fellowship, and we appreciate the forbearance of applicants as we work through any teething problems. Our thanks go to Arcadia Impact for their support.