Learn about the research program for the 2024-2025 year.
The Carr Center's Technology and Human Rights Fellowship is a key initiative exploring how technological progress will shape the future of human life and impact human rights protections.
We invite candidates to join the Center for an academic year to research the ethical and rights implications of technological advancements, with a specific focus on artificial intelligence. Please note that Technology and Human Rights Fellowships are not funded.
Applications have closed for the Technology & Human Rights Fellowship 2024-2025 cohort. Please check back in Spring 2025 to apply for the 2025-2026 cohort.
New Research Theme for 2024–2025 Cohort: Surveillance Capitalism or Democracy?
This year we are specifically interested in assembling a theme within the Technology & Human Rights Fellowship composed of scholars and practitioners who work on the theme of “Surveillance Capitalism or Democracy: Who Knows, Who Decides?” We seek projects that connect to the research programs in Shoshana Zuboff’s 2019 book, The Age Surveillance Capitalism, and Mathias Risse’s 2023 book, Political Theory of the Digital Age. We take a special interest in projects related to the “unified field theory” outlined by Zuboff in her 2022 Organization Theory paper, “Surveillance Capitalism or Democracy? The Death Match of Institutional Orders and the Politics of Knowledge in our Information Civilization.”
This fellowship theme, jointly directed by Mathias Risse and Shoshana Zuboff, invites applicants from various approaches and disciplines to affiliate with the Center for a year of research. The fellowship year will also feature activities centered around the theme "Surveillance Capitalism or Democracy," including events commemorating the fifth anniversary of Zuboff's book.
Non-Theme Technology and Human Rights Fellows
Fellowship candidates are also able to apply for the non-theme segment of the Technology and Human Rights Fellowship, which also spans one academic year. This segment of fellows can apply to perform research on themes that apply to other focuses within the Carr Center's Technology and Human Rights Program.
Fellows can be post-docs, scholars, academics on sabbatical, human rights defenders, senior leaders in international organizations, or heads of human rights organizations. Fellow projects must align closely with the research and programming priorities of the Center.
We welcome both emerging and established scholars and practitioners whose research and practice are aligned with the Center’s priorities. Fellows can focus on research and writing, auditing classes, meeting faculty and other experts, leading study groups for students, and participating in other learning opportunities at the Harvard Kennedy School.
This unpaid fellowship spans one academic year, primarily as a non-residential position. While limited shared office space may be offered for residents, occasional access to shared office facilities is possible for those visiting the Cambridge/Boston area.
Fellows are required to attend Cambridge, MA once per semester to exchange ideas, present their work to the Carr Center and the broader Kennedy School community, and participate in relevant presentations, trainings, or workshops. Limited travel subsidies may be provided for those in need.
The following items should be included in your application:
- Resume/CV
- Project proposal that outlines the background or context, the nature of the problem, the time horizon for the problem, the proposed nature of your research project or intervention (including how it fits with the Carr Center’s work), the anticipated impact, and your qualifications (up to 3 pages)
- Executive summary of proposal (up to 200 words)
- Two letters of recommendation from individuals who can comment on your ability to complete the proposed project (Please ask your references to send the recommendation by the deadline to carr_center@hks.harvard.edu with the subject line "Tech and Human Rights Fellow Application [First Name, Last Name])
- Relevant writing sample (up to 5 pages)
- A list of prior publications (with links or up to 3 attachments)