Call for Applications: UNIDIR Women in AI Fellowship

The pilot edition of UNIDIR’s Women In AI Fellowship (Women.AI) is a first step in this direction. The Fellowship is designed as a capacity-building intervention that will endow women diplomats with up-to-the-minute knowledge of the policy, legal and technical aspects of AI, including its gendered implications. Women.AI Fellows will acquire the knowhow, skills, and resources required to engage effectively in multilateral AI discussion in the field of international peace and security.

Structure

The Women.AI Fellowship comprises a week-long, in-person training programme in Geneva, as well as a series of engagements with relevant experts and stakeholders. In order to ensure to ensure a holistic and effective programme of learning, the Fellowship will be structured around three key pillars:

• Education – UNIDIR will provide the Fellows with a substantive introduction to AI technology, including its strengths and limitations; an overview of the possible and observed use cases of AI in security applications; related international security concerns surrounding AI; background to and current multilateral discussions around AI policy and governance; and insights into the link between gender and military AI. Lectures and participatory learning activities will be led by UNIDIR researchers in collaboration with invited organizations and experts.
• Exploration – UNIDIR will also facilitate the Fellows’ visits to Geneva-based AI labs and other relevant local organizations employing practical AI solutions. This will allow Fellows to receive targeted briefings and to gain a better sense of the ecosystems involved in AI design, development, deployment and governance.
• Networking – UNIDIR will also facilitate Fellows’ interactions with experts and relevant stakeholders to enable the forging of strong connections with the diplomatic community, the private sector and civil society. This will include a) the organization of one reception with the diplomatic community in Geneva, and b) a series of virtual meetings with a group of multi-sectoral experts working at the intersections of gender, security and technology. The makeup of this “Gender and AI Research Network” will be curated by UNIDIR.

Selection Criteria

• The Fellowship is open to women diplomats who:
  • are junior to mid-career level
  • are representatives of UN Member States
  • have a strong command of both written and spoken English
  • have an interest in security, technology and/or gender
• UNIDIR will select 20 Fellows, of which 10 will be fully sponsored by UNIDIR and 10 will participate at their own or their sponsoring organisations’ expense. Priority for sponsorship will be given to applicants and nominees from developing countries.
• Applications will be carefully screened by UNIDIR on the basis of the criteria specified above, and applicants will be informed of the result of their application regardless of their selection status.

Application Requirements

• UN Member States are invited to nominate women diplomats to the Women.AI, and candidates also have the option of applying directly.

For more information, visit UNIDIR.