European AI & Society Fund

What's next for our work in 2025? Our Director Catherine Miller highlights 5 key drivers shaping our agenda for the year ahead 💡 2025 begins with a new level of AI hyperbole. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI which created ChatGPT, declared in his New Year’s message that “we are now confident we know how to build AGI [Artificial General Intelligence]”. Having apparently reached this milestone he’s turning his gaze to “superintelligence” that in his words “could massively accelerate scientific discovery and innovation well beyond what we are capable of doing on our own, and in turn massively increase abundance and prosperity.” If we have learned anything from the two years since ChatGPT’s launch, it should be to treat such prophesies with caution. Like Altman, we are here for the “glorious future”. But for us, it looks radically different. We don’t see that future being delivered at the hands of a small group of tech titans who ramp up the rhetoric of AI’s possibilities to win more investment and capture abundance and prosperity only for themselves. Instead we want AI to be a useful tool that’s harnessed with care to deliver the kinds of fair, inclusive and sustainable societies we all want to live in.    In the year ahead our work will be to challenge the stranglehold of this big tech vision and chart a new future where AI serves people and society.  🟢 We recognise that the current climate is hostile. This makes our work harder but even more necessary. 🟢 We will fight the regulation backlash with practical work to deliver accountability in practice. 🟢 We will support work to chart a responsible approach to AI that truly delivers for the public interest and which accounts for the technology’s climate and human costs. 🟢 To make this happen we aim to get another €10m into the field by the end of 2025.     🟢 We can succeed thanks to the power of our community.    Explore the 5 drivers for our work in 2025 in full here: https://lnkd.in/exN3Mkqf If you’re working in philanthropy and our ambitions align with your mission, let’s connect!  

👋🏼 Consultancy opportunity!👋🏾 We are looking for a lead facilitator to design and facilitate an in-person community event for our grantees and funding partners, taking place on 11-12 June 2025, in Brussels. Who are we looking for? The ideal candidate will have an extensive experience in facilitating conversations and curating engaging and inclusive programmes aimed at building meaningful connections and trust between civil society leaders working on social justice in Europe. We're looking for someone ready to design an inclusive programme accessible to people with different needs including disabilities and varying levels of English proficiency. We value diversity and especially encourage applications from people who consider themselves underrepresented in this sector. Our annual community events are spaces where our #grantees and #funders can meet each other, learn, build trust and reflect on strategies and challenges in the short and medium to long term. It’s a place to celebrate achievements and gain new energy and draw inspiration, as well as identify needs within the ecosystem and take the first steps to meet them. Here’s what we hope to achieve with this event: 🔸 Energise the ecosystem and enjoy the time together 🔸 Build a sense of community and facilitate trust-based connections, especially thinking about people who have joined recently 🔸 Provide a space for community to hold conversations important to them, sharing strategies, leadership and learning (whether thematic, political, organisational etc) 🔸 Centre communities who experience harms facilitated by technology and invite their expertise to imagine solutions towards fair technology 🔸 Provide an opportunity for funders and grantees to gain insights into each other’s work and build a better understanding of the ecosystem we’re part of 🔸 Provide meaningful face-to-face interactions and candid conversations between funders and grantees 🔸 Reflect on and explore medium to long term infrastructure needs within the community to enable change and map the path towards it The delivery of this consultancy is foreseen in February- June 2025, with remote collaboration leading up to the event, and mandatory presence in Brussels during the event on 11-12 June. We anticipate that the work will take 15 days between February – June, including the 2-day on-site event. Does it sound like you? Learn more about the event and how to apply here: https://lnkd.in/ex9R294b #consultancy #job #freelance #vacancy

What a way to kick off 2025! Yesterday, we closed the AI Accountability Grants open call and are thrilled to share that we received 325 applications. These proposals come from passionate public interest advocates dedicated to ensuring that Artificial Intelligence is used responsibly—prioritizing the well-being of people, communities impacted by AI-driven harms, and our planet. Now, the exciting and hard work begins as we dive into reviewing and evaluating these proposals. You can read more about why we launched the #AI #Accountability #Grants and why #philanthropy needs to support this work now: https://lnkd.in/eHrbV8QS

Apply by 23 January to join the third Digital Forensics Fellowship with #AmnestyTech's Security Lab: https://lnkd.in/epVVf7K6 This paid, part-time fellowship will equip 5-7 human rights defenders with specialised training in advanced forensic investigation techniques to combat surveillance, featuring remote learning and an intensive week-long in-person training. ⏳ Fellowship duration: April-July 2025 📍 Location: Global, remote with in-person convening in June 2025 💰 Stipend: £500/month Learn more about the Security Lab at Amnesty International: securitylab.amnesty.org

🚀📝 The European AI & Society Fund is accepting concept notes for its AI Accountability Grants call until January 6. Find out more about the call and how to apply below 👇🏾

The countdown starts now! You have just over three weeks left to apply for our AI Accountability Grants and leverage European laws to hold accountable those responsible for AI-driven harms affecting people and the planet. AI Accountability Grants are for non-profit organisations and coalitions from different fields that want to promote social justice by establishing accountability over the use of AI systems in Europe – at either European, national or local level. Don't worry if you've spotted this opportunity only now, and wonder if three weeks is enough to prepare an application. If you have an idea, you have enough time! ✳️ Our application process is organised in two steps to reduce the burden and barriers for applicants. ✨ And it's important to note that you do not have to be a technology expert to apply.  Your primary expertise can be in, for example, equality and non-discrimination, migration, labour rights, anti-racism or sustainability.✨ Learn more and apply by January 6 on our website: https://lnkd.in/eAZGiBUc

I'm hiring postdocs, phds and a lab manager. Apply/share widely https://lnkd.in/eDuxQpex

Our November Newsletter is here! 👀 With updates from us, our grantees and curated AI and social justice funding opportunities. 🔸 Grantee Spotlight interview on how young Muslim advocates are shaping AI and the impacts on their community with Alexandra Darby from FEMYSO 🔸 Luminate provides €1m to grow our work 🔸 We're still accepting applications for AI Accountability Grants until 6 January! 🔸 Announcing eight brilliant Global AI & Market Power Fellowship teams And many more updates from public interest advocates that are shaping AI so that it is used to promote fair, inclusive and sustainable societies. Read our November edition here: https://lnkd.in/e8E_xviY And subscribe to receive December news directly in your inbox: https://lnkd.in/ewiFHJ8S

We are thrilled to have received a $1 million grant from Luminate to advance our work ensuring that Artificial Intelligence is developed and deployed in Europe in ways that prioritise the public good, human rights, and social justice. This grant will enable us to support a broader field of organisations, build their capacity and skills for long-term engagement and amplify the voices of marginalised communities most at risk from AI’s potential harms, such as algorithmic discrimination and economic exclusion. AI policy is at a critical moment in Europe, with significant strides in AI and technology regulation made through landmark legislation such as the AI Act, the Digital Services Act, and the Digital Markets Act under the EU’s last five-year mandate. As the EU begins a new political cycle, we will focus on equipping civil society to ensure these regulatory frameworks deliver meaningful accountability and reflect the needs of people in Europe as well as start to reimagine ways in which technologies could be used to promote fair, inclusive and sustainable societies. Thank you to the team at Luminate for their continuous support and the trust they've placed in our work! Learn more: https://lnkd.in/edb7nGSR

This Wednesday we're hosting two exciting events for #civil #society organisations looking for funding and funders thinking about addressing #AI impacts on people, society and the environment! We cannot wait to see you there! 📌 'Ask Us Anything' session for everyone who's looking into applying for the #AI #Accountability #Grants open call. This is the last information session we will host before the application deadline. 📅 27 November, 15.30 - 16.30 CET, #online. Register here: https://lnkd.in/eUyzQV2e AI Accountability Grants offer funding for non-profit organisations and coalitions from different fields that want to promote social justice by establishing accountability over the use of AI systems in Europe – at either European, national or local level. #Grants range between €10,000 and €200,000 Apply by January 6, 2025: https://lnkd.in/eAZGiBUc 📌 #Funders' Learning Lunch "After the #US election - what should Europe’s #industrial #policy strategy look like on #AI? " with the AI Now Institute. 📅 27 November, 14.00 - 15.00 CET, #online. 📨 If you work in philanthropy and you'd like to join us, please contact us for an invite! The event will explore alternative pathways for Europe’s AI industrial policy – challenging concentrated power in the tech industry rather than entrenching it, and foregrounding benefit to the public and the planet. Our Funders' Learning Lunches bring together a community of social justice, human rights and technology funders that want to explore themes at the intersection of AI, human rights, climate, equality and other social justice areas.