Currently 19 active paid grants, fellowships and residencies open to applicants in Remote (work-from-anywhere), across AI, arts, film, journalism, research, tech and cross-disciplinary practice. Hand-curated and updated weekly. Almost every entry is funded; a few notable unpaid open calls and festival submissions are included as clearly flagged exceptions. Browse the list below, or use the interactive desk for filtering and shortlisting.
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The Surface Design Association's Artist in Residence programme is built to develop skills, open up relationships and support fiber and textile artists through a studio project that pushes their practice. The residency is entirely virtual and runs across a full year, which is the point: it removes the travel, housing and time-away barriers that keep many practitioners out of in-person residencies. One artist is selected annually by a panel of SDA staff, board members and committee volunteers. WHAT IT INVOLVES: studio visits across the year, social media programming, and meetings with the SDA community, plus further programming shaped around the resident's own skills and interests, which can include teaching online workshops, contributing to SDA publications, jurying exhibitions or joining panels. FUNDING: a $2,000 studio stipend for the project, plus up to $2,000 in additional compensation for programming work, targeting about $4,000 total. ELIGIBILITY: emerging, mid-career and established artists; US-based and international applicants welcome; students and professionals may apply; applicants must hold current SDA membership (from $85 per year, $60 for students). APPLICATION: a portfolio of 10 images with full artwork information (title, year, materials, technique, dimensions, photo credit), a detailed CV, essay responses on artistic goals, programming interests and professional development, and demographic information. No application fee. The 2026-27 cycle closes 14 August 2026.
The inaugural Kennan Institute Digital Fellowship promotes original scholarship and quality non-fiction writing about Russia and the former Soviet Union, with an emphasis on work that has policy relevance. Ten fellowships are awarded per year, and AT LEAST FOUR POSITIONS ARE RESERVED FOR RESEARCHERS PURSUING TOPICS IN THE NATURAL SCIENCES, MEDICINE, TECHNOLOGY OR RELATED FIELDS, which is the route by which a technology-focused project fits this call. The programme aims to give participants time, professional resources and support while bringing their work to a wider public and to the Washington-based policy community, and to build a cohort network that continues into the alumni body. Each fellow receives a monthly stipend of USD 2,000, mentorship and consultation from the Kennan community of experts where applicable, six virtual webinars tailored to the cohort's needs, and membership of the alumni network. ELIGIBILITY: intended for individuals with several years of experience working on, studying or otherwise examining Russia and/or broader Eurasia; applicants must have a good working knowledge of English, as the fellowship is conducted only in English and any publications produced for the Kennan Institute appear first in English with possible later translation into regional languages. The programme runs entirely virtually from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027; the Institute does not cover travel-related expenses including visas. Supported by the Lounsbery Foundation and the U.S. Russia Foundation. Deadline 14 August 2026, 17:00 EST. NOTE: 'digital' here describes the virtual format, not the subject matter, so this fits the desk only if your project is itself about technology, data or science.
OOPS (Origin Of Primary Source) is the first edition of Padimai Art and Tech Studio's Onchain Artist Residency, a three-month remote residency inviting art practitioners to critically and creatively engage with NFTs as artistic registers and as systems of knowledge, documentation, and access. Five practitioners are selected. SUPPORT: SGD 15,000 honorarium per artist, plus SGD 5,000 per artist for documentation. The residency is remote, with community engagement designed through online meetings; at the end, participants deliver three NFTs developed during the residency to Padimai. ELIGIBILITY: individual creative practitioners working at the intersection of art, technology, and blockchain; open internationally. RESIDENCY: 20 September to 20 December 2026. DEADLINE: 15 August 2026. Apply via the residency page.
An eight-week full-time empirical AI alignment research programme run by the AI Alignment Foundation, with a dedicated research manager, mentorship from senior researchers, compute and infrastructure, culminating in a Demo Day where fellows present their work. Fellows receive a USD 12,000 stipend paid in two installments plus a compute budget. The programme is fully remote for the research period; Demo Day is hybrid in Los Angeles and travel is covered for fellows who attend in person. ELIGIBILITY: open to all career stages, including recent PhDs, graduate students, self-taught researchers and career-changers, but candidates need a strong machine learning background, demonstrated engagement with alignment research, prior independent research output, and the ability to work autonomously. Non-US applicants are welcome provided they can make Pacific Time meetings; current graduate students may apply if they can confirm availability. This is explicitly a technical programme: the foundation says policy-focused applicants should not apply. SELECTION: all applications are reviewed, qualified candidates advance to a technical test, and finalists are interviewed, with decisions expected by early September. Applications close 17 August 2026 (Anywhere on Earth); the programme starts 8 September 2026.
A $5,000 fellowship to spend six weeks turning a very large Canadian public archive into something new. THE MATERIAL: Internet Archive Canada's Government Publications collection, part of the Democracy's Library project, holding over 104,000 text items, roughly 22.1 million scanned pages and about 48.25 TB of Canadian public-record material, browsable at archive.org/details/governmentpublications. WHAT TO BUILD: deliberately open-ended. The call names a search tool that answers a real question with page-level citations, a timeline tracing one policy across decades of government language, and a sonic or visual piece built from archival material, but explicitly invites work nobody has thought of yet. The requirements are that it is useful, that it is imaginative, and that the code is open source when it is done. ORIGIN: the fellowship came out of conversations between BC + AI's Kris Kruger and IAC executive director Andrea Mills about treating a public archive as material for new work rather than only something to preserve. IAC brings the archive, BC + AI brings a community of builders used to working in public. ELIGIBILITY: anyone, anywhere in the world; one builder is selected. APPLICATION: a specific project description grounded in the collection, a phase-by-phase work plan for the six weeks, and a success metric, submitted at bc-ai.ca/fellowship/apply. KEY DATES: applications close 21 August 2026 at 11:59pm Pacific; fellow selected by 31 August; build runs 1 September to mid-October; showcase at Futureproof Festival in Vancouver on 28 October 2026 if the project is ready.
FLAGGED EXCEPTION: this is an UNPAID fellowship, listed because the subject matter is squarely on-topic, not because it is funded. The official programme page names no stipend, honorarium or expense cover, and there is no application fee either. Note that several opportunity-aggregator sites have republished this call under headlines calling it 'fully funded'; nothing on the lab's own page supports that, so treat those listings as inaccurate. THE PROGRAMME: the inaugural fellowship of the AI Societal Impact Lab, a fully remote international cohort examining the societal impact of artificial intelligence through social, political, ethical, cultural and interdisciplinary lenses, with the stated aim of encouraging informed public dialogue about AI's opportunities and challenges. WHAT FELLOWS DO: collaborate with peers on a group project, receive mentorship from existing lab fellows, attend workshops and seminars on AI and society, and publish one original analytical article on the lab's website. COMMITMENT: 8 to 10 weeks beginning mid or late September 2026, roughly four hours per week, made up of a one-hour weekly call plus three hours of individual work. WHO CAN APPLY: aimed at recent graduates in the social sciences and humanities and at early-career researchers, though the lab says it welcomes diversity of thought and background and accepts applicants from STEM and the arts. Prior AI experience is welcomed but not required. DEADLINE: applications are reviewed on a ROLLING basis and close when the programme is full or on 4 September 2026, whichever comes first, so the listed deadline is a ceiling rather than a guarantee and applying early matters. DUE DILIGENCE, worth knowing before committing unpaid time: this is an inaugural cohort from a small and recently established organisation. The site lists a founder (Olena Shumska) and three fellows, and publishes no legal or nonprofit registration details and no funders. The exchange on offer is roughly 32 to 40 hours of your work in return for mentorship and a byline on their site.
The Wilson Center, the congressionally chartered nonpartisan policy research institution in Washington DC, awards 10 to 20 research fellowships for its 2027-2028 class. Fellows conduct research and write in their areas of interest while interacting with policymakers in Washington and with other fellows. The Center accepts policy-relevant, nonpartisan proposals that address key foreign policy challenges confronting the United States and the world, and projects must align with at least one of the Center's four scholarship pillars: strategic competition, economic statecraft, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION, and regional scholarship. The technology and innovation pillar is the relevant route for AI governance, emerging technology and digital policy projects, which the Center also supports through its Science and Technology Innovation Program. Fellows work remotely for the duration of the fellowship; the Center covers travel costs for two required trips to Washington DC at the beginning and the conclusion of the term. The stipend is USD 10,000 per month for the twelve-month term, which runs 1 June 2027 to 30 May 2028. ELIGIBILITY: academic candidates need a PhD in hand and either a published book or monograph beyond the dissertation, or a substantial body of research articles (five or more) in reputable peer-reviewed journals. Non-academic applicants (practitioners, journalists, public intellectuals) need at least ten years of relevant experience and a record of substantial policy impact. There is no citizenship restriction, but English proficiency is required. Applications, including letters of recommendation, must be submitted online via Interfolio by 11:59pm ET on 30 September 2026. Questions: fellowships@wilsoncenter.org. NOTE: this is an open-topic foreign policy fellowship, not an AI-specific one; the technology angle depends on how you scope the proposal.
The American Sunlight Project works to ensure that citizens have access to trustworthy sources to inform the choices they make in their daily lives. It is looking for a Free Expression Fellow to produce its regular newsletter on censorship, helping readers stay informed on a rapidly evolving US political landscape. RESPONSIBILITIES: compile and write 'Last Week in Censorship', a clear and engaging newsletter-style roundup of platform policy changes, censorship news and regulatory developments that erode American democracy; and, in support of the organisation's censorship tracker, compile instances from the weekly briefing into a database. IDEAL CANDIDATE: motivated to document instances of democratic backsliding in the United States and happy to take on a part-time nonprofit commitment in service of that goal. The posting explicitly welcomes students, retirees and people looking to moonlight for a good cause. REQUIRED: U.S. citizenship or legal residency; exceptional writing skills with a strong command of tone, clarity and synthesis; and knowledge of U.S. politics and social media. DESIRABLE: experience in research, journalism, public policy or a related field. STRONG PLUS: familiarity with tech policy, internet culture, free expression issues and/or platform governance. Familiarity with Substack is a plus but not required. TERMS: roughly 5 to 8 hours per week, fully remote with flexible scheduling, starting as soon as possible and running through December 2026 with possible extension pending funding, for a USD 2,500 honorarium. APPLY by emailing your CV, a short cover note of a couple of paragraphs explaining your interest, and a writing sample (preferably on a tech or policy topic) to benjamin@americansunlight.org with 'Fellow Application' in the subject line. No closing date is stated.
Playlab is a nonprofit building public infrastructure for educational AI, equipping communities to create AI tools that reflect their own needs and values; more than 60,000 educators have published apps on the platform. Its premise is that AI is a new design material that should be shaped by many, and that educators should be designers of AI systems rather than end users of someone else's. THE ROLE: visual communication designers own the brand and the surfaces where people encounter and build with it, shaping how educators learn about AI and gain the confidence to tinker with it, and making sophisticated ideas legible without flattening them. Work spans brand expression, storytelling, data and information design, motion, interface and print, taken from concept through produced work and shipped as reusable systems. The job includes getting close to the people using Playlab and the contexts they work in, and helping collect and share their stories. WHAT THEY LOOK FOR: craft that is production-grade with a clear point of view and good judgement about when to ship fast versus slow down; narrative sense, meaning well-reasoned positions on how Playlab tells its story and the ability to turn complex systems into intuitive visuals that stay true to their depth; initiative on fuzzy problems, from defining the space to shipped work, thinking ahead to dependencies and second-order questions; technical fluency across print, web and motion, building with and on AI as a creative material and curating tooling and workflows; and taste, a distinct visual voice with the restraint to leave a rough edge when it serves the work. FIT: at least 5 years' experience with a strong graphic design foundation, a home base in visual communication (brand, editorial, campaign, web) and a track record in at least one other design discipline; able to lead design on owned projects while collaborating across the team; broad knowledge of creative tools and workflows including AI-leveraged ones; genuine interest in learning environments and the people in them; and strength as a producer comfortable owning the last mile to production. BONUS: education or edtech experience, designing creative tech, and a love of creative side quests. The posting explicitly encourages applications from people who do not meet every listed qualification. Culturally the organisation describes itself as sitting between a startup and an R&D lab, with nonprofit governance intended to keep incentives tied to teaching and learning rather than growth.
Playlab is a nonprofit building public infrastructure for educational AI, with more than 60,000 educators publishing apps on its platform. Designers there are responsible first for researching, prototyping and implementing interaction patterns that let educators be makers of technology rather than recipients of someone else's system, then for shaping how educators learn about AI and gain confidence to tinker with it, and finally for the storytelling that carries the work into the world. The two standing questions the role works on: how to expand and deepen what educators can create with AI, and how to lower the floor for who can create and how easily AI systems can be meaningfully deployed in real educational contexts. THE ROLE: as Senior Product Designer you own the design of Playlab's surfaces from prototype through shipped product. WHAT THEY LOOK FOR: craft that is production-grade with a clear point of view, and instincts for when to ship fast versus slow down; product sense grounded in staying close to the problems Playlab is solving, with the ability to hold unresolved questions and keep moving; initiative on fuzzy goals, defining the design space, gathering context and driving through prototyping to a shipped solution while bringing leadership along; technical fluency, building with and on AI, judging what is worth building, and curating custom tooling; and taste across visual, interaction and communication design. FIT: at least 5 years as a strong design generalist with a home base in product design and a track record in another design discipline; able to lead design on owned projects while collaborating across the team; broad knowledge of creative and AI-leveraged tools; interest in learning environments and the people who create them; and comfort getting technical with engineers, possibly pushing code. BONUS: education or edtech experience, designing creative tech, and a love of creative side quests. The posting explicitly encourages applications from people who do not meet every listed qualification. The organisation describes itself as sitting between a startup and an R&D lab, with nonprofit governance keeping incentives aligned to teaching and learning rather than growth.
AIXI Labs is a small London-based non-profit doing AI safety research grounded in algorithmic information theory. Its stated position is that most AI research today is either mathematically clean but narrow, or practical but too opaque for rigorous safety analysis; the lab targets a third category, methods general enough to describe powerful agents and provable enough to support real safety claims, using AIXI (the theoretical model of unbounded artificial superintelligence) and then porting the strongest of those ideas to modern LLM-based agents. The fellowship is a quarterly, rolling programme for researchers who want to work on this agenda under close mentorship from the core team: Cole Wyeth (Founder and Executive Director), Marcus Hutter (Research Director) and Aram Ebtekar (Founding Research Scientist). Fellows pursue a focused research project over roughly a quarter and receive a monthly stipend plus a compute budget for machine-learning work. The fellowship is fully remote, so fellows may work from anywhere in the world or from the London base. RESPONSIBILITIES: pursue a self-directed research project aligned with the lab's algorithmic-information-theoretic approach to AI safety, spanning anything from foundational theory to empirical tests with LLM-based agents; shape the project direction around your own strengths and interests, as the lab supports a range of work within this framework; and contribute papers, blog posts or other written output communicating results to the broader AI safety and ML research communities. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: a research background at the level of a current PhD student (for primarily empirical projects, a master's-level command of the relevant mathematics paired with substantial industry or applied research experience can also qualify); solid grounding in probability, statistics, information theory and reinforcement learning, sufficient to engage seriously with AIXI-style theoretical models (prior expertise in algorithmic information theory or AIXI is NOT required); strong verbal and written communication skills; genuine motivation to reduce existential risk from advanced AI and enthusiasm for the lab's kind of work. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: publications at top ML, AI or theory venues such as NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ALT or COLT, though the lab values the strength of your best work over volume; background in algorithmic information theory, computability theory, learning theory or related theoretical computer science; experience fine-tuning, evaluating or red-teaming LLM-based and/or RL agents; prior engagement with the UAI/AIXI community or related fields, including members of the lab's online reading groups. APPLICATIONS are reviewed on a rolling basis and previous applicants remain eligible for later rounds.
The Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL) Research Fellowship supports curious, passionate mid-career researchers and practitioners to explore frontier questions on digital public infrastructure (DPI) and data governance. Fellows bring their own knowledge and research agenda while contributing to DIAL's core thematic priorities: creating more value for more people from data; understanding how digital systems and services impact people, including and especially the most marginalised; and accelerating the adoption of data-sharing and governance practices that fuel innovation and empower people. SUPPORT: a USD 5,000 stipend for research completed over 6-8 months, plus mentorship from DIAL staff and industry experts, access to DIAL's network and resources, collaboration with partner organisations, and support amplifying the work. Each fellow produces two preliminary pieces and one final, more extensive output (research papers or reports, policy briefs, expert-comment series, etc.). ELIGIBILITY: professionals from academia, the private sector, and civil society, typically with 8-15 years of experience in digital development, policy, or research; demonstrated work at the intersection of technology and society (including DPI and data governance); a track record of high-quality writing, research, or policy briefs; experience working in or with global majority countries; and strong analytical and communication skills. TO APPLY (rolling basis): submit a CV or resume, a writing sample or portfolio, and a research proposal. Questions: fellows@dial.global. Apply via https://dial.global/apply-to-our-fellows-program/.
Manifund's regranting program funds AI safety and global-catastrophic-risk work through a network of expert regrantors, each given an independent budget to recommend grants to people and projects they find promising. Applicants submit a project proposal on the Manifund platform; regrantors can then offer funding. GRANTS: typically USD 5,000 to 50,000, though amounts vary. ELIGIBILITY: individuals (no legal entity or institutional affiliation required) and organizations working on AI safety or reducing catastrophic risk from AI. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; per-regrantor budget availability varies over time. Learn more at the regranting page and apply on the Manifund platform (manifund.org).
Humans in Control empowers the public to shape AI policy through grassroots organizing and bipartisan advocacy for commonsense safeguards that protect children and families. The Distributed Organizing Manager builds and supports distributed/volunteer organizing to advance the organization's advocacy goals. This is a full-time, fully remote role open to candidates anywhere in the United States (US work authorization required). Compensation is USD 65,000-80,000 plus benefits. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis (no fixed deadline). See the listing for full responsibilities and to apply.
Supports journalists producing long-form investigative reports and tech-policy researchers conducting research, analysis or evaluation that informs policy related to the Kapor Foundation's three priority areas, with an emphasis on responsible AI and tech ethics. Priority areas: CS/AI Education, Innovation, Governance. Aims to dismantle systemic inequities in the tech sector by funding researchers and investigative journalists exploring barriers and driving actionable solutions. Applications accepted on a rolling basis; first awards to be announced by 30 June 2026.
Commissioned long-form writing at the intersection of design, technology, art and culture. Editorial themes: designing with AI as cultural and infrastructural system; responsive and adaptive materials; politics of platforms and creative-infrastructure governance; post-digital hybrid making; designing for collapse and continuity; creative research as practice. In-depth pieces only, no press releases or promotional copy.
Independent artist-run grant redistributing a portion of Karim Boumjimar's artwork sales as a no-strings-attached 500 EUR award for working-class creatives anywhere in the world. Funds may be used for artistic production, research, materials, travel or basic living needs. Simple application: short intro and a sample of work or interests. No fee, no reporting, no obligation to produce. Rolling review based on available funds; non-selected applicants stay in the pool for future rounds.
The Good Life Residents Program is a six-month Roosevelt Institute initiative that develops new leaders and elevates bold ideas across six economic policy priorities under its Good Life Agenda. Each topic area hosts a cohort of 3 to 4 residents plus 1 to 2 senior Topic Advisors (academics, policy leaders, organizers or government practitioners) who provide strategic and intellectual mentorship and moderate the closing event. Residents write a roughly 1,500-word original policy essay advancing a people-centered policy vision against a topic-specific prompt, take part in structured dialogue with peers, Topic Advisors and Roosevelt Think Tank directors, help prepare and appear at a culminating public event, contribute to press opportunities such as op-eds and reporter calls where applicable, and act as ambassadors for the Good Life Agenda in their professional and public networks. The current round, the AI and Finance Residents Program, is run in partnership with Data & Society and asks for bold ideas on how to shape, redirect, interrupt or make more visible and contestable the flows of capital into generative AI. Framing: breakneck investment in generative AI technology and infrastructure is distorting the stock market, profit measures, bond issuance, the pace and composition of growth, job creation and trade policy, with seven tech companies accounting for more than a third of S&P 500 market capitalisation and complex, sometimes circular financial arrangements obscuring risk. Suggested lines of inquiry include what government interventions could improve public oversight, risk allocation and direction-setting in private markets; how other investments could be coordinated and scaled if AI spending is crowding them out; what role public spending or new institutions could play in catalysing technology R&D designed to support workers, sustainability and supply chains; what democratic input mechanisms would keep state influence over capital flows less vulnerable to corruption; and how federal AI policy should address public hostility to data centre investments alongside national security and competitiveness. Compensation is USD 3,000 plus travel and accommodation for the culminating event. FLAG: Roosevelt does not publish an application deadline for the AI and Finance round on the programme page, and earlier rounds (Social Security financing, Federal Reserve powers, housing) each ran their own short application window. Check the Formstack application form linked from the programme page for the current closing date before applying.
Luminos.AI, an embedded AI-governance and legal-risk infrastructure company (built by former Fortune 500 AI governance leads and company-builders), runs a part-time fellowship for a technically inclined law student or recent graduate who wants to work at the frontier of AI agent oversight and risk evaluation. Fellows work directly with senior lawyers and engineers on the practical problem of how to test, evaluate and govern generative and agentic AI systems that change every quarter. WHAT YOU DO: research and help design rigorous testing and evaluation approaches for generative and agentic AI, translating fast-moving legal and regulatory requirements into concrete, testable standards; track the global AI regulatory landscape in real time and turn it into practical guardrails; draft frameworks, workflows and risk assessments that hold up under real deployment conditions; and partner closely with the technical team, where comfort around code, models or data is an asset. Fellows with technical skills who want to spend part of their time working directly with engineering are encouraged to do so. WHO YOU ARE: currently pursuing a JD (or a recent graduate) from a top law program; an excellent researcher and writer comfortable applying existing law to genuinely new situations; genuinely enthusiastic about AI and willing to learn the technical details. Bonus: coding ability, ML/GenAI exposure, or a background in privacy, security or data governance law. TERMS: USD 35 per hour, remote, part-time, flexible 3 to 6 month term, with direct mentorship from senior legal and technical leadership. TO APPLY: send a cover letter, resume, transcript and writing sample to careers@luminos.ai with the subject line 'Application for Luminos.AI Fall 2026 Fellowship'. Rolling review with remote interviews.