Belfer Fellowship (Anti-Defamation League)

In 2017, the ADL created the Center for Technology and Society (CTS) to lead the effort to ensure justice and fair treatment for all in the digital age. As part of a 105-year-old anti-hate organization, CTS draws from over a century of fighting anti-Semitism and bigotry against all. CTS is headquartered in Silicon Valley and works in partnership with industry, government, academia and non-profit groups to develop smart strategies and practical solutions to today’s cyber challenges.

Applications are now open for the second class of the Belfer Fellows at CTS. Fellows will be critical in advancing CTS’ work and will be sourced from the tech community, academia and media of all kinds to push innovation, research, and knowledge development. They will embark on projects that align with CTS’ mission, like promoting cyberhate awareness and digital citizenship, and work to implement the projects for wider social good.

The first class of Belfer Fellows included scholars and practitioners working on projects focused on the relationship between anti-Semitism and disinformation online; how the process of game design can be used as a form of anti-bias education for game developers; and how to use the creation of emerging technology like AR to facilitate community discussions around civil rights. For example, you can read our first year fellow Dr. Karen Schrier’s guide to Identity and Game Design here and our first year fellow Samuel Woolley’s report on Anti-Semitism and Bots here. A full description of the work done by our first year of fellows can be found here.

Applicants should think broadly about potential topics for their fellowship. If you’re passionate about doing compelling work at the intersection of tech and civil rights, we welcome your application. We are interested in a wide range of fields, such as machine learning/data science, Ed-Tech, games, virtual reality and augmented reality, public policy, social science, arts, economics, and law. We also are open to a wide range of skills and backgrounds because we believe that everyone has a role to play in ensuring civil rights in digital spaces by making them safe, respectful and inclusive for all people.

We welcome and urge applicants from all backgrounds, communities and identities to apply. A wide variety of perspectives is critical to advance the cause of justice and equity for all in digital spaces.

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt and the CTS team in consultation with the Belfer Family will select the fellows. CTS’s Technology Advisory Board, composed of top leaders in industry, tech, and academia, may also be called upon to review projects or provide mentorship throughout the fellowship. Fellows’ honoraria will range from $25,000-$50,000, depending on the scope of work. Fellowship appointments are for one year, with the possibility of extension for a second year.

Unless otherwise specified, Fellows will own the intellectual property built during this collaboration; however, Fellows grant ADL a non-exclusive, world-wide, perpetual license to use that intellectual property.