Applications are now open for the second round of the Digital Minds Funding Program, an initiative supported by Longview Philanthropy to advance research and practical work exploring the potential consciousness, sentience, moral status, and societal implications of artificial intelligence systems.

As AI technologies continue to evolve rapidly, the program seeks to support scholars, professionals, entrepreneurs, and organizations working to better understand how society can respond to emerging questions surrounding advanced AI systems and their possible moral and legal significance.

Funding Opportunities Available

The 2026 call offers support through three separate funding streams designed to encourage both research and real-world initiatives.

Research Fellowships

Researchers holding a PhD, JD, or equivalent experience in fields such as computer science, neuroscience, law, economics, political science, medicine, and related disciplines are invited to apply.

Successful fellows will receive funding ranging from $55,000 to $150,000 per year for one to two years. Additional support may include research expenses, travel funding, networking opportunities, and access to computing resources for machine learning projects.

Research topics may include:

• AI consciousness and sentience
• AI introspection and self-reporting
• Welfare measurement for AI systems
• Interpretability and model behavior
• Legal and governance frameworks for advanced AI
• Agent-to-agent interactions and cooperation
• AI ethics and moral status

Career Development Fellowships

This fellowship stream is designed for individuals seeking to transition into the growing field of digital minds research and policy.

Eligible applicants may include graduate students, early-career professionals, researchers, policy practitioners, communicators, legal experts, and entrepreneurs interested in developing expertise related to AI consciousness and welfare.

Funding is tailored according to the duration of the fellowship, location, and professional experience of the participant. Fellows may also receive networking opportunities, mentorship support, and access to computational resources where relevant.

Grants for Applied Work

Organizations, research groups, academic institutions, startups, and independent initiatives are encouraged to submit proposals for projects that address practical challenges associated with digital minds and society.

Funding requests are generally expected to range from $50,000 to $2 million, although proposals outside this range may also be considered.

Projects may focus on:

• Establishing new organizations or research initiatives
• Public education and communications
• Policy development and governance frameworks
• Conferences, workshops, and field-building activities
• Mentorship and training programs
• Social science research
• AI welfare interventions
• International and cross-cultural engagement on digital minds issues

Areas of Interest

The program is particularly interested in work that contributes to:

• Building the digital minds research field
• Advancing evidence-based understanding of AI consciousness
• Exploring governance options for potentially sentient AI systems
• Developing thoughtful public discourse around AI and society
• Supporting underrepresented geographic, cultural, and intellectual perspectives
• Investigating AI welfare, wellbeing, and alignment strategies
• Examining legal, ethical, and political questions related to advanced AI

Don't miss out on the application deadline which is 10 July 2026.

Scroll down for more details and click on the official link attached to apply now.