Applications are now open for the Human-Centred Digital Future Fellowship, a flagship initiative of the Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. Jointly directed by Professor Shoshana Zuboff and Professor Mathias Risse, the Fellowship tackles a pressing global challenge: how to protect human dignity, freedom, and democracy in a world increasingly shaped by digital technologies, data extraction, artificial intelligence, and surveillance systems.
The Fellowship brings together scholars, practitioners, and advocates who are concerned about the growing power of technology and its impact on human rights. It is designed for individuals committed to ensuring that digital transformation remains centred on people, not profit or unchecked control, and that democratic values are upheld in the design and governance of digital systems.
Grounded in Professor Zuboff’s work on surveillance capitalism and Professor Risse’s scholarship on political theory in the digital age, the Fellowship focuses on how large-scale data extraction and AI-driven systems affect autonomy, freedom of expression, privacy, and democratic participation. It supports critical inquiry into how human experience is increasingly commodified and how this trend threatens individual agency and collective self-determination.
At its core, the Fellowship is advocacy-oriented. It recognises that digital technologies are not neutral and that their deployment has real consequences for rights, power, and accountability. Fellows are encouraged to interrogate how surveillance, behavioural prediction, and data-driven control shape societies, and to develop research and ideas that contribute to stronger protections for individuals and democratic institutions.
The programme is intentionally interdisciplinary and inclusive. It welcomes early-career, mid-career, and senior professionals from fields, including human rights advocacy, law, journalism, academia, public policy, healthcare, and international development. What matters most is a demonstrated commitment to advancing a human-centred digital future and alignment with the Fellowship’s intellectual and advocacy priorities.
Fellows participate in a structured programme that combines collaborative learning with focused research development. The cohort meets virtually twice a month for in-depth discussions around Fellows’ projects, creating space for feedback, reflection, and shared learning. Fellows also attend on-campus convenings once each semester at Harvard Kennedy School, designed to strengthen collaboration, support work toward publication, and deepen engagement with the wider academic and policy community. Travel subsidies are provided to ensure broad and equitable participation.
The Fellowship also places strong emphasis on global perspectives. As digital infrastructure expands rapidly across regions such as Africa, Asia, and South America, the risks associated with surveillance capitalism and AI governance are becoming pronounced, particularly where regulatory frameworks are weak. The Fellowship, therefore, encourages projects that reflect diverse geographic contexts and address how digital power affects marginalised and underrepresented communities.
Applicants are required to submit a project proposal of up to three pages outlining the background and scope of their research, its alignment with the Carr-Ryan Center’s priorities, and its anticipated impact. Applications must also include an executive summary, contact details for two professional references, a relevant writing sample, and a list of prior publications where applicable. The Fellowship seeks projects that not only analyse existing challenges but also advance practical and rights-respecting approaches to shaping the digital future.
This Call for Applications for the 2026–2027 Human-Centred Digital Future Fellowship is an invitation to those working at the intersection of technology and human rights to contribute to a more just, democratic, and people-focused digital world.
Applications close on February 22, 2026.
For more information, visit this link: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/carr-ryan/opportunities/fellowship-opportunities/technology-and-human-rights-fellowship#eligibility-1554778.
