| New Brunswick, N.J. (Jan. 10, 2024) — Recognizing the need for more access to scientific expertise in state-level policy development and implementation, the Eagleton Science and Politics Program at Rutgers University–New Brunswick has partnered with the Rita Allen Foundation to host a Civic Science Fellow tasked with producing guidelines for state-level artificial intelligence regulation.
The Civic Science Fellow program is an initiative for emerging leaders interested in bridging the gap between community priorities and scientific research with the goal of creating innovative solutions. Envisioned as a Civic Science Lab, Fellows and host organizations facilitate pioneering research to co-create pilots, partnerships, knowledge, models, and new ways of addressing public problems. The program brings together scientists, scholars, community leaders, journalists, educators, media producers, public-interest organizations, and funders to seed new collaborations between science, diverse communities, and civil society. The 2024-2025 cohort of Fellows will begin in March, 2024 for a period of 18 months.
Reporting to Anna Dulencin, director of the Eagleton Science and Politics Program, the Civic Science Fellow placed at the Eagleton Institute of Politics will explore the multidisciplinary field of AI and produce a set of guidelines for state-level AI regulation. This study will require input from a variety of disciplines and will engage stakeholders from diverse fields. The purpose of the guidelines is to provide a resource for state-level policymakers with multiple avenues to navigate and regulate the complexity, challenges, and benefits of AI in a matrix of transience of the current technological landscape and rapidly evolving innovation.
“State policymakers from across the country and the political spectrum have expressed an urgent need for a trusted resource to not only learn about the interdisciplinary impacts of AI but also receive some guidance and recommendations on how to regulate AI.
“We are very enthusiastic about this partnership and grateful to the Rita Allen Foundation for their support. We think this will be a highly consequential project and hope the final resource tool will be useful to state-level policymakers nationwide,” said Anna Dulencin, Ph.D.
“Artificial intelligence presents complex, emergent issues for our democracy that require a team approach to address. We are creating the Civic Science Fellows program to support leaders and institutions to bring these teams together—drawing on a wide range of expertise to ensure that scientific progress and new technology lead to broader public benefits,” said Elizabeth Good Christopherson, president and chief executive officer of the Rita Allen Foundation. “This Fellow will have a wealth of resources for innovation in this space at the Eagleton Institute, with its long history of integrating research and practice to strengthen democracy.”
Individuals interested in the Artificial Intelligence Regulation/Civic Science Fellowship must have a Ph.D. in any field of study; a minimum of two-years research experience investigating a multidimensional and/or interdisciplinary project or emergent, anticipatory issues in science and technology with social, ethical, and/or economic import; and experience with artificial intelligence or machine learning as a focus of a research or work project. This is a full-time 18-month position based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, with a start date in March, 2024.
Learn more and apply for the Artificial Intelligence Regulation/Civic Science Fellowship. |
