Description of subprojects and results, including major changes from the original proposal
Description of subprojects and results, including major changes from the original proposal
We’re getting close to launching the first BASE Fellowship cohort, and this process has been both intense and incredibly meaningful for us.
We received 1,127 applications from people around the world who want to work on AI safety. Reading through them has been a reminder of how much talent and motivation exist, and how many people are actively looking for a path into this field.
From this pool, we selected 345 finalists. We’re now working with 15 mentors who have stepped up to support the fellows, and we’re moving into the final stage of the selection process. On March 29, we’ll narrow the pool further and send coding and written assessments to those advancing. From there, we’ll finalize the cohort and begin the fellowship in early April 2026.
One thing that stood out to us is just how strong the applicant pool has been. The level of interest and quality exceeded what we expected, which has made the selection process more rigorous, but also reinforced how important it is to build pathways like this into AI safety.
The overall structure of the program remains the same as originally proposed. The main change has been the amount of time and care required to evaluate candidates well at this scale.
Spending breakdown
$2,025 — Tools and infrastructure for running the selection process (coding assessments, Airtable, Zoom, Gmail, etc.)
$9,000 — Executive Director cost of living support during the build and selection phase