We’re excited to announce that applications are now open for the Futurekind Winter Fellowship 2025/6, launching this November 25, 2025.
Apply nowThe Futurekind Fellowship is a 12-week learning and professional development journey at the cutting edge of AI and animal protection , designed for people who want to build, research, or steer the future of AI for the benefit of all sentient beings.
Following the success of our Spring 2025 Fellowship, we are expanding with new tracks, broader global participation, and direct support for promising projects, including mentorship, scholarships, and a selective incubator pathway for projects ready to move from idea to real-world impact.
📅 Applications close November 1, 2025.
There is growing knowledge on how Artificial intelligence will profoundly shape the future of animal lives, from how factory farms operate to how we understand animal minds. Yet, few initiatives exist that systematically explore how AI can be leveraged to protect animals, rather than just optimizing systems that exploit them. Although some other organizations (1,2) have begun initiatives in this area, Electric Sheep focuses on developing the talent and impact capacity to reinforce this ecosystem.
The Futurekind Fellowship, run by Electric Sheep, aims to bridge this gap by equipping participants with the knowledge, tools, and networks needed to advance work at the intersection of AI, animal protection, and the future of both.
Our past cohort included participants from 57 countries and produced over 40 original projects spanning research papers, advocacy tools, and exploratory prototypes. The upcoming Winter Fellowship builds on this foundation with a refined structure and more targeted mentorship support.
A redesigned program helps participants come away with a concrete project, research piece, or career plan, while enabling specialised learning in their chosen domain.
The most promising projects may be invited into the Campus Incubator, where they’ll receive mentorship, resources, and potential seed investment. Select teams will also be eligible for scholarships and grants to move from concept to implementation.
An intensive introduction to the AI–animal frontier.
(Topics may evolve as we finalize the program.)
Participants choose one of three focused pathways:
Fellows transition from learners to doers. Guided by experienced mentors, participants design and implement a tangible project that contributes to the intersection of AI and animal advocacy.
All fellows gain access to, among other things:
The fellowship is fully online and free of cost.
You don't need to be a coder or have a background in animal advocacy; the key selection factors are motivation, curiosity, and a commitment to making an impact for animals.
We especially encourage applicants from the global majority, whose perspectives remain underrepresented in AI and AI safety fellowships.
“The FutureKind Fellowship expanded my perspective on how AI can be aligned with animal welfare. It gave me the tools, mentorship, and global community support I needed to turn an idea into an actionable project improving fish welfare through AI in Uganda. A truly transformative experience!”
— Sylvie Kirumira, Clinton Health Initiative Statistician, Uganda
“Futurekind Fellowship was a one-of-a-kind learning experience. Inspired by the project sprint, I have started working on a MVP to tackle the lack of data and AI infrastructure in India's ethical and sustainable nutrition landscape. Hoping to collaborate with FutureKind and make the world kinder to animals.”
— Shreya Mukhopadhyay, Data Scientist, India
From our most recent cohort:
If you’re interested in joining as a facilitator, apply here.
If you’d like to explore the Futurekind Incubator Campus Program, you can express interest here.
The era of AI presents immense possibilities. Every day, new opportunities arise in areas such as disease prevention, knowledge sharing, leisure, pleasure, and purpose. However, the potential for mishandling this powerful technology also poses serious risks, particularly for marginalized communities, our planet and its ecosystems, and the suffering of vulnerable human and animal lives.
Electric Sheep is dedicated to raising awareness of these often-overlooked dangers and empowering individuals, especially talented young people and those from the global majority, to take control and create solutions. We are a global movement focused on developing and researching AI that supports the most vulnerable while championing the issues we care about. Our vision is to cultivate a world where secure and compassionate AI enhances the welfare of the beings on our planet, its ecosystems, and its communities, along with human and animal life.
Whether you are a coder seeking a more meaningful challenge, a researcher focused on making AI safer for ecosystems and species, an NGO or government worker wanting to explore the potential of AI, or simply someone intrigued by AI who wants to ensure its positive impact, we will provide you with the tools, understanding, collaborators, mentorship, support, and investment you need to help build a better AI future for all.
If you want to help shape the future of AI and animal protection, we would love to hear from you.
👉 Apply by November 1, 2025
🌐 https://www.electricsheep.is/
For further questions, please contact hello@electricsheep.is.