Future Fellowship Spring '26 Application

About the 7-week fellowship: 

  • Debate about our responsibility to help other people and how we can best do that

  • Understand the impact of emerging tech on the future (e.g., AI and biotech)

  • Learn about social good projects (e.g., global health/poverty interventions)

  • Argue about the implications of morality/philosophy on the future (e.g., longtermism)

The fellowship will culminate into an article team project on the cause area of your interest, which you will get to present to other fellows and potentially publish in the EA forum and other venues! 

The fellowship is open to both undergraduate and graduate students. For more info, consult the fellowship website.

The 7-week discussion-based program meets for ~1.5 hrs weekly in small groups. Free dinner is provided, and no work will be assigned outside of weekly meetings. You don't need a background in debate, philosophy, or effective altruism! All the program requires is an open mind and a desire to help make the world a better place :)

This application is due March 2nd! We'll probably accept applications for a few days after tho :)

If you're also interested in working on an impactful research project at prestigious organizations that do amazing work, check out https://www.iri-harvardmit.org/ to get involved with biosecurity or AI safety research!

We believe that we need more MIT students working on the most pressing problems of our time. Don't hesitate to reach out with any questions at impact-exec@mit.edu!

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Name *
Email (MIT email preferred): *
MIT Affiliation *
Please list your school, expected graduation year, and major (if applicable).
When are you available for weekly discussions?
Please check at least two hour blocks of when you're free!
3-4 PM
4-5 PM
5-6 PM
6-7 PM
7-8 PM
8-9 PM
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Quick question :) *

Read this article (~10 min read) by William MacAskill (Previous Philosophy Professor at Oxford): https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220805-what-is-longtermism-and-why-does-it-matter

Write a paragraph or two (or more if you'd like!) about your thoughts on the article. Don't worry about being formal, we care more about how you think than about how your thoughts are written. Don't feel pressure to write what you think we'd want to hear. We're not looking for people who agree with us; rather, we're interested in people who have a willingness to interact with and discuss the question of how we can maximize the good we do in the world. Feel free to disagree with the article, and be argumentative in general :)

If you're not sure what to write about, here are some prompts:

– What does this article make you think about regarding your own career trajectory or life plans?

– What do you think about the core premise of "longtermism"—that future people matter just as much as people alive today? Do you agree or disagree with the claim MacAskill is making? What do you think it implies (or doesn't imply!) about the global issues we should prioritize right now

– Critics often argue that focusing on existential risks to the far future distracts from urgent, tangible problems happening today (like global poverty or preventable disease) and might involve gambling with low chances motivated by high potential outcome (Pascal's mugging). How do you personally weigh present suffering against potential future suffering?

If you're interested in a more opinionated exploration and defense of these ideas, here is a good review of MacAskill's book on the topic: https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/book-review-what-we-owe-the-future. Feel free to write about this review instead!

On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you like to argue about philosophy?
This won't affect your application! We're considering running one fellowship group slightly differently, and want to gauge interest! *
I don't like arguing about philosophy at all!
I love arguing about philosophy!
How familiar are you with Effective Altruism (EA)? This won't affect your application, we're just curious! Don't worry if you've never heard of EA :) Please just choose one box! *
Any Dietary Restrictions? Note: all food we serve will be vegan, so if your restriction is a subset of veganism, you don't need to answer this question!
Would you like to recommend anyone else for the Future Fellowship? 
We will email them this application. Either email or First and Last name.
How did you hear about the future fellowship?
Thoughts/Comments/Questions?
Feel free to reach out to us directly at impact-exec@mit.edu!
Thanks for applying!
We'll be in touch within the next week. In the meantime, keep on being an amazing person!
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