Get Involved
Join the AISCI community and make an impact.
Technical Intro Fellowship
Spring 2026 · ClosedAn 8-week reading group on technical AI safety. Participants meet weekly in small sections on Thursdays from 5–7pm in HICF 100K, with dinner provided. No work is expected outside of weekly meetings.
Topics include:
- AI risk and the current trajectory of AI development
- Scalable oversight
- Mechanistic interpretability
- Robustness and unlearning
Open to undergraduate and graduate students. Participants receive a completion certificate and early access to membership opportunities.
We run the fellowship every quarter.
Membership
Rolling AdmissionsBeing a member of the AISCI community comes with both opportunities and responsibilities. Membership includes:
Members generally contribute by running or participating in workshops, discussions, socials, hackathons, and more. While we are a UCI-recognized student group, membership is not restricted to UCI students — independent researchers and students from other universities are welcome.
If you aren't very familiar with AI safety, we recommend applying for our Technical Intro Fellowship above. We typically offer fellowship alumni priority in the application process.
Membership admission is rolling, but the board tends to make decisions every month. If we are slow to respond, please don't hesitate to email us at .
Join the Board
We're always looking for motivated people to help run AISCI. Board members organize fellowships, events, workshops, and outreach, as well as steer the direction of the group.
We value people who are genuinely excited about AI safety. There's no single mold, but we look for responsible, agentic, and high-context individuals who have demonstrated commitment to our mission.
The best first step is a conversation. Book a coffee chat and tell us what you're interested in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there an AI safety club at UCI?
Yes — AISCI (the AI Safety Collective at Irvine) is UC Irvine's student-led community for AI safety and AI alignment. We run a quarterly Technical Intro Fellowship, a weekly member reading group, workshops, and socials. Anyone at UCI interested in the field is welcome to join Discord or grab a coffee chat.
What is AI safety?
AI safety is the field of research focused on making advanced AI systems behave in ways that are safe, controllable, and aligned with human values — especially as those systems become more capable. It includes technical work on interpretability, robustness, scalable oversight, and evaluation, as well as governance and policy work on how AI is deployed.
What is AI alignment?
AI alignment is a subfield of AI safety focused specifically on making sure AI systems pursue the goals we actually want them to pursue, rather than something subtly different. Many researchers consider it one of the core technical problems in ensuring advanced AI goes well.
How do I join AI safety research at UCI?
The typical path is: (1) apply to the Technical Intro Fellowship to get grounded in the field, (2) continue as an AISCI member for weekly research reading and discussion, (3) work on research projects with the group or through external programs like Redwood Research, the U.S. AI Safety Institute, METR, or MATS. You can also start by attending any of our events or booking a coffee chat with a co-director.
Do I need a technical background to join?
No. The Intro Fellowship assumes no AI or ML background. Membership and board roles have a mix of technical and non-technical people — there's meaningful work on the governance, policy, and field-building side too.
When does the Intro Fellowship run?
Every quarter. Sessions meet Thursdays 5–7 PM in HICF 100K at UC Irvine, with dinner provided. Applications open roughly a month before each quarter starts.
Is AISCI part of UC Irvine?
AISCI is a UCI-recognized student organization based on the UC Irvine campus in Irvine, California. We are student-led and student-run. Membership is primarily UCI students, but independent researchers and students from other universities are welcome.