Visiting Fellows

The Visiting Fellows program provides an opportunity for professionals working on our focus areas to connect with leading researchers, exchange ideas, and find collaborators while continuing their work from our offices in Berkeley, CA.

Program details

Constellation brings together individuals and teams from nonprofit organizations, universities, AI companies, think tanks, and governments. Visiting Fellows join Constellation's workspace for 3–6 months, with travel, housing, meals, and office space included.

We plan to accept a new cohort of Visiting Fellows each quarter and have opened applications for our fall and winter cohorts.

Applicants should be working full-time on one of our focus areas or something closely related. If you are uncertain about your fit or availability, we encourage you to err on the side of applying.

What we provide

We’ll provide opportunities to connect and share ideas with over 100 researchers and staff working on the focus areas. We reimburse travel to and from Berkeley and provide or pay for housing for the duration of the program. Fellows will have 24/7 access to Constellation’s shared workspace. Lunch and dinner are provided at the workspace each weekday.

Application process

We are accepting applications for our winter and spring cohorts. Our winter cohort begins January 6th.

Program details

We will provide housing and transportation within Berkeley for the duration of the program. Additionally, we recommended Astra invitees to AI Safety Support (an Australian charity) for independent research grants and they have decided to provide grants of $15k for 10 weeks of independent research to accepted Astra applicants in support of their AI Safety research.

Fellows will conduct research from Constellation’s shared office space, and lunch and dinner will be provided daily. Individual advisors will choose when and how to interact with their fellows, but most advisors will work out of the Constellation office frequently. There will be regular invited talks from senior researchers, social events with Constellation members, and opportunities to receive feedback on research. Before the program begins, we may also provide tutorial support to fellows interested in going through Constellation and Redwood Research’s MLAB curriculum.

We expect to inform all applicants whether they have progressed to the second round of applications within a week of them applying, and to make final decisions by December 1, 2023. For more details on the application process, see the FAQ below. The deadline to apply has passed.

Testimonials

“Having research chats with people I met at Constellation has given rise to new research directions I hadn't previously considered, like model organisms. Talking with people at Constellation is how I decided that existential risk from AI is non-trivial, after having many back and forth conversations with people in the office. These updates have had large ramifications for how I’ve done my research, and significantly increased the impact of my research.”

Ethan Perez

Research Lead, Anthropic

"As a researcher with a non-safety background, the program provided an amazing opportunity for me to get started with safety research. I had the chance to work with leading researchers from the field and found interesting research directions that I could continue working on after the program."

Dami Choi

PhD Candidate in Computer Science, University of Toronto

"Speaking with AI safety researchers in Constellation was an essential part of how I formed my views on AI threat models and AI safety research prioritization. It also gave me access to a researcher network that I've found very valuable for my career.”

Sam Marks

Postdoc, David Bau's Interpretable Neural Networks Lab

"My time at Constellation led to a few important new research directions for my organization: forecasting to inform evaluations of dangerous AI capabilities (with partners at Constellation); AI “scenario”-oriented forecasting; and helping to organize an “AI for epistemics” workshop. Also, the environment substantially improved my productivity: the lively lunch conversations, comfortable office space, and excellent food all contributed to higher-quality work time."

Josh Rosenberg

CEO at Forecasting Research Institute

Recent speakers

We host talks from some of the leading researchers and thinkers in the field.

Sam Bowman

Alignment Science Lead, Anthropic

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Ajeya Cotra

Senior Program Officer, Open Philanthropy

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Buck Shlegeris

CEO, Redwood Research

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Owain Evans

Research Associate, Future of Humanity Institute

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FAQ

If your question isn't answered here, please reach out to programs@constellation.org

How is the Visiting Fellow program different from the Constellation Residency?
Can I apply to both the Visiting Fellow program and the Constellation Residency?
Who is eligible to apply?    
What if my current work doesn’t fall under one of Constellation’s focus areas?
What is the day-to-day experience like for a Visiting Fellow?
What if I’m not available to begin on the official start date or I need to leave the program early?
Will I receive any compensation for participating in the program?
Why is Constellation running this program?
Can I refer someone?
Can I participate in the Visiting Fellows program remotely?
Can I participate in the Visiting Fellows program more than once?