Deadline: 14-Feb-24
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Division of Research Programs is accepting applications for the Humanities Research Centers on Artificial Intelligence (AI) program.
The Humanities Research Centers on Artificial Intelligence program aims to support a more holistic understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) in the modern world through the creation of new humanities research centers on artificial intelligence at eligible institutions. Centers must focus their scholarly activities on exploring the ethical, legal, or societal implications of AI.
A Center is a sustained collaboration among scholars focused on exploring a specific topic. Successful applicants will examine the humanities implications of AI through two or more related scholarly activities. Centers must be led by scholars in the humanities or humanistic social sciences, but should include scholars from multiple disciplines. Scholars may come from one or more institutions. NEH welcomes international collaboration, but scholars at U.S. institutions must contribute significantly to the project. This program is for establishing new Centers; existing Centers and Institutes are not eligible in this competition. Only one application per organization is permitted in this first competition.
In addition to the establishment of a sustainable Center, your project should engage in at least two activities that support research into the ethical, legal, or societal implications of AI. Appropriate activities may include but are not limited to: collaborative research and writing efforts; workshops or lecture series; education and mentoring; and the creation of digital tools to increase or advance scholarly discourse about AI.
Purpose
- This notice solicits applications for the Humanities Research Centers on Artificial Intelligence (AI) program offered by the Division of Research Programs.
- AI is one of the most powerful technologies of their time and will have profound consequences for civil rights and civil liberties, safety and security, and democratic values. Questions about the ethical, legal, and societal implications of AI are fundamentally rooted in the humanities, which include ethics, law, history, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, media studies, and cultural studies.
- NEH is particularly interested in projects that explore the risks of AI-related technologies on truth, trust, and democracy; safety and security; and privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties.
Funding Information
- You may request up to $500,000, (with a maximum of $200,000 per year) plus an additional $250,000 in federal matching funds. This includes the sum of direct and indirect costs. NEH anticipates awarding approximately $1,000,000 among an estimated 2 recipients.
- You may request a period of performance up to 36 months with a start date between October 1, 2024, and September 1, 2025.
Outcomes and Performance Indicators
- You must propose outcomes that contribute to the creation and long-term development and sustainability of your Humanities Research Center. All project outcomes must address the Center’s chosen thematic focus and convey interpretive humanities work. Your project must result in a leadership structure, a mission statement, and an institutional plan for long-term sustainability by the end of the first year of the period of performance. Additional outcomes may include, but are not limited to:
- a lecture series extending beyond the period of performance
- a workshop series, colloquia, or summer institute to explore the impact of AI
- digital infrastructure for enabling multi-disciplinary or multi-institutional research about the humanistic implications of AI
- curriculum development or training courses for AI literacy in the humanities
- a multi-authored book, peer-reviewed articles in academic journals, or articles for the general public, or both
- To be competitive for this program, you should propose to accomplish at least two such outcomes during the period of performance.
Eligibility Criteria
- To be eligible to apply, your organization must be established in the United States or its jurisdictions as one of the following:
- a nonprofit organization recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
- an accredited institution of higher education (public or nonprofit)
- a state or local government or one of their agencies
- a federally recognized Native American Tribal government
- Individuals and other organizations, including foreign and for-profit entities, are ineligible.
- If your organization is eligible, you may apply on behalf of a consortium of collaborating organizations. If NEH selects your proposal for funding, you will be programmatically, legally, and fiscally responsible for the award.
- The recipient may not function solely as a fiscal agent but should make substantive contributions to the success of the project.
For more information, visit NEH.