Berkman Klein Center & the MIT Media Lab’s Assembly Program 2019 in Cambridge (Stipend Available)
Deadline: September 2, 2018
Applications are open for 2019 Assembly Program. Assembly is an annual program that gathers technologists, policymakers, developers, managers, and other professionals to confront emerging problems related to the ethics and governance of artificial intelligence. Assembly is a project run out of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and the MIT Media Lab. The project is part of the Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence Fund.
Over four months, participants engage in a design-thinking process, a course led by Harvard and MIT faculty, and a collaborative development period to explore hard problems with running code. During the development period, the cohort divides into teams to create actionable projects that address real-world problems, either as part of ongoing Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence Initiative work or as part of a new Assembly project.
They look forward to bringing a third Assembly cohort to Cambridge in 2019 to develop solutions to artificial intelligence ethics and governance problems. Next year’s program will run from March 11 to June 15, 2019. If you’re a professional with an interest in artificial intelligence, ethics, and governance, apply.
The four-month Assembly program has three major components:
- an ideation process,
- a short course led by Jonathan Zittrain and Joi Ito, and
- a twelve-week collaborative development period, where participants divide into teams to develop concrete solutions to real problems.
Location: In-person attendance in Cambridge is required for the first two weeks and final few days of the program. For the remaining twelve weeks, in-person attendance is encouraged and has shown to be most successful, but it is not required. Regardless of location, participants must be accessible and available to collaborate with their teams.
Stipend
Participants will receive a $2,500 stipend.
Eligibility
- They are looking for professionals who are interested in artificial intelligence and governance issues, as well as experience in one or more of the following areas: communications, data science, development, entrepreneurship, machine learning, policy / law, project management, or other relevant skills.
- Open to participants from a range of backgrounds.
- They are looking for applicants who have an interest in artificial intelligence and governance issue, as well as experience in one or more of the following areas:
- Communications
- Data science
- Development
- Entrepreneurship
- Machine Learning
- Policy / law
- Project management
- Other relevant skills
Requirements
- Participants are expected to participate full-time for the first two weeks of the program, and half-time for the remaining twelve weeks of the program.
- In order to join the Assembly cohort, participants must sign a Contributor License Agreement that enables the release of Assembly products under open source licenses and confirms that their employer does not own or have rights to their Assembly contributions.
- Selected participants must have the ability to engage in collaborative research and receive a stipend.
- Selected participants already in the United States with an existing visamust consult with their immigration sponsor for the correct mechanism to allow for collaborative research and receiving a stipend. Unfortunately, B visas and the visa waiver program do not allow for these activities, and they cannot accept them.
- For selected participants outside of the United States and without an existing visa, they will explore sponsorship in the J-1 short-term scholar visa category to allow collaborative research and to receive a stipend. They work with the Harvard International Office (HIO) to sponsor visa paperwork for eligible selected applicants.
Application
Apply to join the 2019 Assembly cohort! The application has three parts: 1) applicant information, 2) short-answer questions, 3) resume & references.