What happened

UNESCO and the AI and Society Institute at ENS-PSL launched a call inviting recent PhD graduates to submit proposals on AI ethics. Proposals should address themes like fairness, transparency, human rights, and ethics literacy, with an in-person Paris event on 10 December 2026 for selected authors to present and receive feedback.

Why it matters

The initiative links academic inquiry with policy and practice, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration in AI ethics, while maintaining that results are proposals and discussions, not guaranteed outcomes for all people.

The UNESCO-backed call invites researchers who completed a PhD in the past five years to submit 800–1,000 word extended abstracts proposing research on the ethics of artificial intelligence. Submissions may cover topics from governance and inclusion to AI in public policy and sustainability, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches.

Selected authors will present at a one-day Paris event on 10 December 2026, where researchers, institutions, and policy representatives will discuss findings and receive expert feedback, followed by potential publication avenues.

The process aims to foster dialogue between academia, policy, and practice, while ensuring that participants understand the scope and limitations of the evidence they present. A key limitation is that this call seeks proposals, not verified outcomes or broad population claims, and results depend on future peer review and dissemination.

What this does not tell us

Only proposals and discussion opportunities are described; no observed outcomes or population-level effects are claimed.

FOR PEOPLE

Benefits reported

Opportunities for students and researchers to contribute ethically to AI discussions.

FOR AI AND ITS OPERATORS

No direction stated

This brief centers human scholarly activity; no AI system gains are claimed.

These are two separate readings of what the sources describe. Reported claims and risks do not by themselves establish a real-world effect.

Original sources · 1
  1. Call for papers: Advancing research on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence ↗Unric · 2026-10-01

Reporting discovered in Canada · United Kingdom. Discovery market does not mean the event happened there.