Overview

The AI & Advanced Computing Institute at Schmidt Sciences supports fundamental research in artificial intelligence (AI), the application of AI and data science across a wide range of disciplines, and the creation of high-impact research platforms that accelerate discovery.

Our AI at Work program aims to drive exceptional research into how AI adoption may influence the nature of work and the functioning of the labor market. We support both descriptive research, which assesses causal impacts, and prescriptive research, which field-tests the design of tools, training, and policies to produce desirable outcomes.

Currently, there are too few high-quality field experiments and quasi-experiments examining the real-world effects of introducing AI tools in the workplace. AI tool developers, government agencies, and businesses need reliable insights into how AI systems perform in practice and what their implementation means for employees and the labor market. The AI at Work program addresses this gap by funding research that provides clear, trustworthy estimates of AI deployment’s effects in the workplace.

AI at Work will support early-career economists and other quantitative social scientists, including graduate students, with up to $200,000 USD to conduct and analyze field experiments and quasi-experiments on AI’s workplace impact. To help identify promising candidates and projects, we are partnering with five leading economists and research institutions, each of whom has issued a tailored call for proposals and will assist in identifying top applicants.

The focus areas of our program partners are summarized below. For detailed information—including how partners will collaborate with applicants (proposal development, office hours, etc.)—please refer to the linked calls.

Details for Applicants

Applicants should submit a CV and a brief expression of interest by March 31, 2025. This submission should help us understand the specific research problem you aim to tackle, its scientific significance, your envisioned study design, the people and organizations you plan to collaborate with, and your potential as a future senior researcher.

Applicants who submit an expression of interest will be eligible for Proposal Development Awards of $10,000 USD. These awards are intended to support travel and legal costs commonly associated with developing a data partnership. Schmidt Sciences expects to grant 20–30 Proposal Development Awards at this stage.

Many promising proposals will require a data partner—an organization where an awardee will conduct a field experiment. Securing data partnerships is challenging and takes time. While applicants are responsible for forming their own partnerships, Schmidt Sciences and several program partners will help facilitate introductions.

Applications for full awards of up to $200,000 USD over two years are due July 31, 2025. To be eligible, applicants must have an established data partnership or a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in place with a data partner. Schmidt Sciences anticipates making 10–15 full awards in the second half of 2025. Applicants for the full award do not need to have received a Proposal Development Award.

Retreat

Schmidt Sciences plans to organize a retreat for all recipients of the Proposal Development Awards. The retreat will provide an opportunity to workshop proposals, meet potential data partners, and learn best practices for developing data partnerships. The retreat is planned for May 18-20 2025 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Timeline

If you are interested in signing up for office hours to discuss your proposal with the Schmidt Sciences team, please find a time here.

Selection Process and Criteria

The Program Partners above have agreed to work with Schmidt Sciences to shortlist responses of the Expressions of Interest, and to provide advice on suitability of full proposals for the program.

Applications will be compared on the following criteria: 

Scientifically important research target: The research problem is important and underexplored. If the research is done to a very high standard, it would likely be accepted by a top journal. 

Credible research design: The proposed research design would produce meaningful results in helping us to understand the scientific problem.

Proposed data partnership: The proposed data partnership (or data collection strategy) will enable the proposed research design. 

Promise of the applicant as a future leader in the scholarly field: The primary applicant has a strong research track record relative to peers at a similar career point. 

Schmidt Sciences will also look to create a portfolio of research projects that have a diversity of research targets, research designs, and data partnerships. 

Frequently Asked Questions