Block Student Fellowship on AI and Society
91视频 the program
Artificial intelligence is reshaping how people work, learn, communicate, create, access information, and interact with institutions. These changes create new possibilities while also raising important questions about power, governance, trust, inequality, democratic life, culture, and the production of knowledge.
These opportunities and challenges do not fit neatly within disciplinary boundaries. Addressing them鈥攚hether through thoughtful implementation of AI tools, forward-looking AI governance, new public policies, or other interventions鈥攚ill require an interdisciplinary, entrepreneurial, and hands-on approach that connects frontier research with the real-world challenges facing society today.
With leading students and faculty across fields ranging from computer science and public policy to technology governance, design, and the fine arts, Carnegie Mellon is well positioned to bring technical, institutional, and creative perspectives together around some of the most consequential questions raised by AI. The fellowship seeks to draw on that breadth while also contributing to it鈥攃reating a dedicated space for students and faculty from across the university to exchange ideas, build new collaborations, and develop projects that cut across traditional disciplinary boundaries.
The Block Student Fellowship on AI and Society gives students the space, tools, guidance, and community to engage these questions head-on鈥攐pen-minded, interdisciplinary, and oriented toward solutions. By bringing together peers, faculty, and practitioners from across disciplines, the program helps students develop ideas, test approaches, and turn emerging insights into substantive, real-world projects.
Fellows will have opportunities to:
- Engage with faculty, researchers, and practitioners working on different dimensions of AI and society.
- Connect and collaborate with students from across the university.
- Explore timely questions and perspectives that may fall outside the scope of more foundational coursework.
- Develop and pursue a substantive project with an interdisciplinary team and faculty advisor.
Projects are intentionally open-ended and may take a variety of forms, including public writing, policy proposals, research or analysis, and pilots of new products, tools, or interventions. The goal is to give students the mentorship, community, and flexibility to develop a meaningful project of their own.
Frequently Asked Questions
The seminar series will explore a wide range of questions about the societal implications of artificial intelligence, with particular attention to how AI is reshaping institutions, public life, governance, and democracy. Sessions will draw on perspectives from across disciplines and will examine both the opportunities associated with AI and the risks, tensions, and tradeoffs that accompany its development and use.
Some motivating questions might include:
- How is AI changing the way people work, learn, communicate, create, access information, and participate in public life?
- Where might AI, technology, and democracy be in tension鈥攁nd where might they be mutually reinforcing?
- Who makes decisions about how AI is developed and deployed, and what are the benefits, limitations, and tradeoffs of different approaches to AI governance, accountability, and public oversight?
- What opportunities and risks does AI create for institutions, public discourse, and civic life? What approaches might help realize potential benefits while addressing or mitigating potential harms?
- Where might AI create meaningful social value, and what can we learn from existing efforts to develop and deploy AI in socially consequential settings?
The specific topics will evolve over the course of the year in response to new developments, the expertise of participating speakers, and the interests of the fellowship cohort.
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We are looking for undergraduate, graduate, and PhD students who bring鈥�
- Genuine interest. You should have a real interest in questions about AI and society鈥攚hether those questions relate to governance, public life, work, education, culture, creativity, institutions, or other areas. You do not need prior experience working on these topics to be a strong fit, but you should be able to explain what draws you to them.
- A collaborative mindset. The fellowship is designed to bring together students with different backgrounds, skills, and perspectives. We are looking for people who are excited to learn from others, contribute their own perspective, and work across disciplinary boundaries.
- A proactive approach. Fellows will have significant freedom to shape their experience and projects. We are looking for students who are curious, self-motivated, and willing to take initiative to make the most of the fellowship for themselves and for the broader cohort.
We welcome undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines, including applications from students whose interests or perspectives may not fit the traditional pathways into work on AI.
The scope and format of fellowship projects are deliberately open-ended. The program is intended to give students the opportunity to pursue substantive, student-directed work that may not fit neatly within conventional coursework or academic research.
Projects should engage meaningfully with questions related to AI and society and result in a concrete output, but that output can take many forms. A project might involve writing an op-ed or other public-facing piece, developing a policy proposal, conducting research or analysis, organizing a workshop, creating an artwork or other creative work, or developing and piloting a new tool, product, or intervention.
We encourage fellows to think ambitiously and creatively about what form their project might take. Projects will be developed collaboratively in interdisciplinary student teams, with guidance from a faculty advisor.
No, this opportunity does not come with any accompanying funding.听