Cosmos Senior Research Fellowship

The Cosmos Institute elects outstanding individuals for a multi-year Senior Research Fellowship on the basis of a distinguished record, but as a commitment to support a Fellow’s originality and potential for significant future accomplishments rather than as a reward for past achievements. Cosmos Senior Research Fellowships are awarded directly to individuals rather than institutions.

Recipients may be academics, scientists, entrepreneurs, or individuals in other fields, with or without institutional affiliation but with an outstanding record, who have demonstrated promise to produce paradigm-shifting work that puts technology into the service of human flourishing, with a special emphasis on AI. The fellowship recognizes exceptional potential for contributing to knowledge in AI for human flourishing.

Fellowships are awarded to support the pursuit of a broad, ambitious vision that is specific enough to indicate a concrete path, but general enough as to not inhibit exploration of the unknown. The duration of a Cosmos Senior Research Fellowship shall range from 2 to 7 years, and the total award shall be commensurate with the Fellow’s scope of vision envisaged at the start of the fellowship and the level of seniority. Fellowships are awarded on the basis of recommendations from a committee of experts. Unsolicited nominations are not accepted.

The fellowship award shall be paid out to the Fellow in quarterly payments or otherwise mutually agreed installments over the duration of the fellowship.

The Cosmos Institute does not require specified outputs or undertake to evaluate the recipients of a fellowship during the term of the fellowship. The sole formal responsibility of a Cosmos Senior Research Fellow shall be:

To annually hold an event with the support of the Cosmos Institute to share their vision with the broader Cosmos community.
To pledge upon their honor to work toward carrying out this vision to the best of their abilities for the duration of the fellowship, and to suspend or resign from the fellowship as they determine necessary.

With the exception of (1) and (2), the Cosmos Senior Research Fellowship is thus in substance a no-strings-attached award. A Cosmos Senior Research Fellowship does not constitute a contract of employment.

With the creation of the Cosmos Senior Research Fellowship, the Cosmos Institute recognizes:

That the effective pursuit of truth and new concepts for human flourishing requires freedom from undue influence and financial constraint.
That the pursuit of new horizons often requires long-term support.
That existing opportunities for attracting and developing talent in areas related to AI outside a certain small number of private organizations are currently too limited.

The Cosmos Institute does not accept applications or unsolicited nominations for the Cosmos Senior Research Fellowship. Anonymous and confidential nominations are reviewed by an anonymous and confidential selection committee drawn from the Cosmos Institute community. The selection criteria are as follows:

Outstanding creativity in the Fellow’s chosen field.
A concrete vision for paradigm-shifting work on the intersection of technology and human flourishing, with a focus on AI.
Potential for a Cosmos Senior Research Fellowship to facilitate the realization of this vision.

Cosmos Senior Research Fellowship

Cosmos Senior Research Fellows

Phillip Koralus

McCord Professor of Philosophy and AI, University of Oxford

Vincent Wang-Maścianica

Senior Research Associate, HAI Lab at the University of Oxford