How to Get Involved with the Center for AI Safety (CAIS)

The Center for AI Safety (CAIS — pronounced "case") is a San Francisco-based research and field-building nonprofit working to reduce societal-scale risks from AI. You can get involved through four main routes: taking a course, applying to a fellowship, joining the organization through careers, or supporting it through donations and staying informed via its blog and newsletter. Which route fits you depends on whether you want to learn, do research, work, or fund the work.

Learn: Courses and Training

CAIS runs training programs aimed at building the field of AI safety researchers and giving newcomers a structured introduction to the subject.

AI Safety, Ethics, & Society Training

• A course offering a comprehensive introduction to how current AI systems work, their societal-scale risks, and how to manage them.
• CAIS describes it as training "1000+ future AI safety leaders."
• Best suited to people who want a broad grounding across technical, ethical, and societal dimensions rather than a single narrow topic.

Introduction to AI Safety (with Coursera)

• Offered in partnership with Coursera.
• Covers the drivers of modern AI development, major risks from AI — including malicious use, competitive pressures, and loss of control — and governance strategies across different scales for mitigating these risks.
• A reasonable starting point if you prefer a self-paced online format and want the governance and risk framing alongside the technical picture.

If your goal is simply to understand the landscape before committing to research or a career change, start with one of these two courses.

Research: Fellowships and Programs

For people who want to spend focused time on AI safety questions, CAIS lists fellowship programs under its field-building work.

AI and Society Fellowship

• A three-month research program that investigates the societal impacts of advanced AI and the institutions and policies that could help societies respond well.
• Applications close March 24 (as stated on the site).
• Suited to researchers interested in the policy and institutional side of AI risk, not only technical safety.

Philosophy Fellowship

• Listed among CAIS's field-building programs.
• Aimed at those approaching AI safety from a philosophical angle.

Compute Cluster

• CAIS provides a compute cluster as part of its infrastructure for safety research.
• Relevant if your work requires computational resources and you are affiliated with its research efforts.

Before applying, check the current program page for eligibility, dates, and whether applications are open — deadlines and cohort details change.

Work: Careers at CAIS

CAIS lists a Careers page alongside its research, field-building, and advocacy work. If you want to contribute directly rather than through a program, this is the entry point for open roles. The organization describes itself as multidisciplinary, working across academic disciplines, public and private entities, and with the general public — so openings are not limited to technical research.

Support and Stay Informed

If you are not looking to study, research, or work there, you can still engage:

• Donate — CAIS is a nonprofit and lists a Donate page.
• AI Safety Newsletter — a recurring publication for following developments in the field.
• CAIS Blog — posts on the organization's work and AI risk topics.
• Impact Reports — the 2024 and 2023 Impact Reports summarize what the organization has done, useful for judging whether you want to support or join it.

Choosing Your Route

A Note on What CAIS Focuses On

CAIS frames its mission around reducing societal-scale risks from AI through three activities: conducting safety research, building the field of AI safety researchers, and advocating for safety standards. It also published a Statement on AI Extinction Risk. Understanding this framing helps you pick the right way in — the courses and fellowships are the field-building side, while careers and donations support the research and advocacy side.