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Data Ethics & Responsible AI Research Intern

Society Ethics Tech / Data x Direction

Data x Direction bridges data science, ethics, human-centered AI, and interdisciplinary leadership. Through research writing, tool reviews, and public-facing communication, the project builds a practical conversation about the future of responsible data use and its strategic impact. It is a project under the Society Ethics Technology working group, managed jointly by JOPRO and the Orthogonal Research and Education Laboratory (OREL).

Following onboarding, you will work with the Project Lead to identify a topic area aligned with your interests and background. You will receive guidance on sourcing relevant material — datasets, tools, papers, or media — and be expected to research and investigate your chosen focus. Technical projects may involve experimenting with or prototyping data tools; policy- or concept-focused projects may involve analyzing articles, papers, and debates around data ethics, governance, or responsible AI.

Interns report progress regularly and produce interim deliverables throughout the program: presentations, blog posts, and contributions to team discussions. The internship culminates in a final project deliverable — which may take the form of a written report, an academic preprint, a final presentation, or a Jupyter notebook or other portfolio piece. Where applicable, work may be submitted to relevant conferences and events in the data science and AI community.

The position is 100% remote, with optional occasional in-person opportunities in New York, Boston, or San Diego.

For additional context see the 2025 internship description: https://dataxdirection.substack.com/cp/162043940

More about Data x Direction →

What you'll do

• Choose a focus track: Technical (tools, auditing, explainability) or Policy & Communication (frameworks, governance, science communication)
• Identify a research topic in consultation with the Project Lead and develop it across the internship
• Read and interpret data science, data ethics, and responsible AI news, papers, and tools
• Produce interim deliverables: presentations, blog posts, or contributions to team discussions
• Compile your work into a final deliverable: report, preprint, presentation, or portfolio piece
• Meet weekly with the Project Lead; optionally present findings to the broader OREL community

Who this is for

Undergraduate or graduate students with strong writing skills and familiarity with core data science concepts. The Technical Track suits students with Python and Jupyter experience; the Policy & Communication Track suits students from policy, ethics, STS, journalism, or science communication backgrounds. Strong interest in data ethics or responsible AI is essential for both.

Details

• Duration 10–12 weeks (rolling applications)
• Compensation Unpaid, with potential for grant-funded stipend
• Location Remote
• Time commitment 5–10 hours/week (flexible, project-based)
• Level Undergraduate or graduate

What past participants have done

A previous intern (Computer Engineering, UC Davis) built an Ethical Policy Analyzer using NLP to evaluate corporate ESG reports, identifying gaps between stated commitments and actual coverage. The project produced both a working tool and a co-authored blog post.