Want to upskill in AI policy? Here are 57 useful resources

Are you enthusiastic about developing AI policy to minimise the risks and maximise the benefits of the technology, but need concrete ideas for how to enter the field?

Below are our top picks for upskilling in policy research or implementation to ensure government policies are prepared for a world with powerful AI systems. In practice, upskilling involves developing the research skills, domain expertise, and interpersonal networks needed to address challenges such as informing lawmakers or working for one yourself.

We developed this list in consultation with our advisors to highlight the resources they most commonly recommend, including articles, courses, organisations, and fellowships. While we recommend applying to speak to an advisor for tailored, one-on-one guidance, this page gives a practical, noncomprehensive snapshot of how you might move from being interested in AI policy to starting to work on it.

Overviews and expert advice

These resources outline the AI policy landscape, highlighting current research efforts and some practical ways to begin contributing to the field.

• EmergingTechPolicy.org
• AI governance and policy career review or The US AI policy landscape by 80,000 Hours
• FAQs and general advice on AI policy careers by Miles Brundage
• How to get into AI policy by B Cavello
• Ten AI governance priorities by The Future Society
• Non-AI policy career guides such as One year in DC by Thomas Hochman or Policy: an early career guide by Jordan Schneider.
• This policy networking guide, or our general networking advice.

Courses and ideas for part-time projects

If you’re looking for concrete ways to build experience and test your interest in policy, consider:

• BlueDot Impact’s Frontier AI Governance Course
• Harvard’s The Governance of Artificial Intelligence course curriculum by Joan O’Bryan
• The Center for AI Safety’s Ethics and Society Course
• Read US government strategies, such as the White House’s 2025 AI Action Plan and NIST’s 2023 AI Risk Management Framework to test your interest.
• Read think tank reports, such as from CSET, CNAS, CSIS, and IFP, and consider writing a short summary and response to one to get practice.
• Review past mentors’ projects for SPAR and Future Impact Group to see what open problems there are in the field.
• Consider Apart Research AI policy hackathons (Berkeley, DC).

Fellowships

If you’re looking to break into AI policy, these programmes offer structured support with mentorship, funding, and access to active researchers.

• SPAR and Future Impact Group (global, part-time)
• IAPS Fellowship (US in DC or remote, full time during summer)
• GovAI Fellowship (US and UK streams, full time three months)
• LawAI Fellowship (seasonal, lawyers or law students)
• ERA Cambridge and Pivotal policy streams (UK)
• MATS and Astra policy streams (three or more months full time)
• RAND CAST Fellowship (US or UK, one year or more full time)
• Horizon Fellowship and TechCongress Fellowship (DC, one year or more full-time)
• Talos Network Fellowship (Europe, full time)
• A much longer list can be found here.

AI policy organisations

A growing ecosystem of organisations are working on developing and shaping AI policy. The list below highlights some key players, but a larger list is available here or on our job board.

• Americans for Responsible Innovation
• Center for Security and Emerging Technology
• Foundation for American Innovation
• GovAI
• Institute for Progress
• RAND
• Secure AI Project and Encode
• Congressional staffing and executive branch positions, or their parallels in non-US governments, can also be highly impactful.

Staying up to date with AI policy developments (podcasts, newsletters, etc)

Here are our top recommendations for keeping up with the latest developments and debates in the field.

• Transformer News
• Helen Toner’s Rising Tide
• Dean Ball’s Hyperdimensional
• Zvi Mowshowitz’s Don’t Worry About the Vase
• The 80,000 Hours Podcast
• The Cognitive Revolution Podcast
• The AI Policy Podcast by CSIS