The Telos Fellowship is a work in progress. Check back later for updates!

The word telos (τέλος) is an ancient Greek term meaning "end," "goal," "purpose," or "fulfillment". It refers to the ultimate aim or inherent purpose of a person, object, or action, representing the final, perfected state or natural culmination of something rather than merely its termination.

Even if humanity solves the control problem (how do we control smarter-than-human AI systems?), aligning those future AI systems with what really matters may require us to answer the question: what does it mean to experience the best life possible, and how do we optimize for it? In a post-scarcity world, how might we go about optimizing wellbeing for all sentient beings, including human, animal, and artificial? And in today’s world—with all of its problems and limitations—how should we quantify welfare to prioritize animal welfare and improve government policy success metrics?

Sentient Impact is building a new fellowship program to empower you to answer what may be some of the most important questions of our time. This program is a work in progress. Check back later for updates!