Ethics and Technology Practitioner Fellowship

Position description

Moving forward from ourinaugural-year pilot in 2024-2025, the Ethics and Technology Practitioner Fellowship will be continuing in 2026, welcoming an even larger cohort of 12-15 professionals who represent various domains of applied ethics in the development and deployment of technology. This is an opportunity for mid-career practitioners to build their leadership capabilities and receive flexible project funding to impact the trajectory of moral challenges and societal harms. Projects should spark new conversations challenging conventional understandings of issues in technology.

Operating on a non-residential basis, the program is scheduled to run from January 2026 to December 2026.

Throughout the Ethics and Technology Practitioner Fellowship program, practitioners will learn directly from Stanford faculty, visiting faculty, other fellows in the program, and mentors with extensive experience in the technology industry, civil society, and government.

For questions about the fellowship, contact[email protected].

This program is made possible by Frank McCourt in association with Stanford’s partnership with theProject Liberty Institute.

Fellowship Details

Who should apply? Ideal candidates:

• Are mid-level professionals active in technology companies, government, non-profits, think tanks/research organizations, and similar sectors
• Hold an intimate practitioner understanding about a given field, e.g. technical familiarity, knowledge of how decisions are made, incentivized, and influenced
• Are impact-driven, collaborative, and energetic about the potential to shape the future of our world through thoughtful and ethical innovation.

Project Scope:

• Deliverable: Project outputs can be one (or a combination) of the following:

  • Written output, e.g. policy paper, model legislation, blog or op-ed publication, petition, open letter
    • Important: While projects often entail UX testing, literature review, program evaluation, and other forms of inquiry tied directly to a deliverable, we are not accepting proposals for academic research at this time.
  • Media output, e.g. online tools and resources, website, platform, app, multi-media content
  • Stakeholder engagement, e.g. establishing a community of practice, professional organization/peer association, holding a conference or convening, creating a deliberative body

• Institutional/Professional Context: Projects should fall into one of the following contextual categories:

  • Organizational level -related to evolving norms or internal policies at companies, non-profits, or government agencies
  • Field level -improving the state of practice for peer practitioners
  • Public policy level - lobbying and legislative advocacy

• 2026 Themes: Each fellowship year is organized around theme areas to ground Practitioner Fellows’ work in ethics and identify affinities among projects. Fellows are welcome to interpret this year’s themes creatively for a wide variety of project ideas addressing:

  • Meritocracy in the age of automation
  • Bridge frameworks amidst polarization
  • Efficient gratification, health, and wellbeing
  • Overlooked populations in emerging technologies

Compensation:

• A $15,000 stipend to support work on a 12-month project. The stipend will be released in three stages over the 12 months.
• Paid expenses to attend a week-long introductory convening on the Stanford campus.
• Paid expenses for a concluding convening and work showcase on the Stanford campus.

Mentorship:

• Mentorship from fellowship directors and connection with alumni from previous cohorts.
• Utilization of Stanford resources for project development and expansion.

Programming:

• “Fellows Week”: A week-long introductory convening for fellows to build community, utilize the resources on the Stanford campus, and develop their project plan. This “Fellows Week” is scheduled to take place in January 2026.
• “Work Showcase”: End-of-fellowship celebration for fellows to present their work, its impact to date, and plans moving forward.

Opportunities for Engagement within Stanford

• Academic collaboration: Rising Scholars, PhD students, faculty.
• Centers and institutes on campus: Institute for Human-Centered AI, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Cyber Policy Center, Center for Biomedical Ethics, and the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society.

Application instructions

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