AI Safety Essentials Fellowship

A vital starting point for Africans to gain clarity, explore the diverse subfields within AI Safety, and identify concrete pathways to contribute to shaping safe and beneficial AI for the continent and the world.

Accepting Applications

Why the AISEF?

The AI Safety discourse often feels distant from African communities because many find it difficult to navigate their entry points into the field. Across the continent, we have countless curious minds, technical talents, and seasoned professionals who are eager to contribute meaningfully to AI Safety.

Yet, the field can feel abstract, unrelatable, and unclear; especially when it comes to understanding where the global conversation is heading and what "effective contribution" truly looks like.

Fellowship Details

Mode

Virtual with In-Person Possibility

Capacity

At Most 25 per Cycle

Cycles

2 per year (before summer & before winter)

Duration

7 weeks including pre-requisites

Tentative Curriculum

Pre-requisites

AI Safety Foundations

→Tell us all you know about AI Safety
→How to read AI Safety Papers
→Career paths you are considering
→Get to know each other

Week 1

Existential Risks

→Why should we care about making the world a better place?
→What does a global catastrophe look like?
→Impact of past catastrophes in Africa
→Case study on risks from unguarded AI in Africa

Week 2

Frontier AI Models and Africa

→What counts as frontier AI?
→The before and possible after of frontier AI
→What goes into benchmarking an AI model
→How is the data gap accounted for when training?

Week 3

What do we mean by Safe AI?

→What AI Safety Encompasses?
→Understanding AI ethics and AI Safety
→AI's intersection with society
→Ways developers try to make AI Safe

Week 4

Problems of focus in AI Safety

→The Alignment Issue
→Is having models in our local languages impactful?
→Where should we focus our strength most?
→How does AI Governance fit into AI Safety?

Week 5

Africa's AI Safety Landscape

→Why should the global south be concerned with AI Safety?
→How is Africa approaching AI Safety?
→Are we setting the right strategies?
→Being an active actor in the AI Safety landscape

Week 6

Mapping Out and Next Actions

→Programs you can apply to for more in-depth capacity
→Proposals submission
→AI safety starter pack

Proposals

We are looking for fellows to submit proposals on how they would like to contribute to AI Safety in Africa after the fellowship. Successful proposals will receive support from Encode SSA to implement their ideas. Proposals can be articles, research projects, community initiatives, or any other creative contributions that advance AI Safety in the African context. We reserve the right to publish exceptional proposals on our website to showcase the innovative ideas emerging from our fellowship.

Add-Ons

Support for graduates on applications to AI Safety initiatives, finding gigs, and advising referrals. Graduates can lead study groups, workshops, and seminars to continue learning and engaging with the AI Safety community.

Apply to the Fellowship

Join the next cohort of African AI Safety leaders. Gain clarity on the field and find your pathway to meaningful contribution.