AI ethics research by early-career scholars has a new international platform. On 23 September 2026, UNESCO and the AI and Society Institute at the École normale supérieure (ENS-PSL) in Paris launched a call for papers for researchers who completed a PhD within the past five years. Selected authors will present their work at a one-day academic event at ENS on 10 December 2026, get feedback from the jury of UNESCO’s Beruniy Prize, and be invited to publish.
The deadline is 30 October 2026, which gives applicants 37 days from launch to write an 800 to 1,000-word extended abstract. The call is open to every discipline and every region, and it covers 14 research themes, from fairness and human rights to climate, culture and frontier technologies. Every theme is framed by UNESCO’s 2021 Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, the first global standard on the subject.
This guide sets out what the call offers, who is eligible, the full timeline, what the extended abstract must contain, who will judge it, and the mistakes most likely to sink a submission. It ends with why AI ethics research matters to businesses, not just to universities. Our ethical AI implementation guide covers the practical side for organisations.
Table of contents
- What UNESCO Announced for AI Ethics Research
- The AI Ethics Research Call Timeline
- Who Can Apply for This AI Ethics Research Call
- The 14 AI Ethics Research Topics
- How to Choose an AI Ethics Research Angle for This Call
- Writing the Extended Abstract for AI Ethics Research Review
- Who Will Judge the Papers: The Beruniy Prize Jury
- The Foundation of AI Ethics Research: UNESCO’s Recommendation
- The Paris Event and Publication Route
- Common Mistakes That Sink AI Ethics Research Submissions
- Why AI Ethics Research Matters to Businesses
- Frequently Asked Questions About the UNESCO AI Ethics Research Call
- References
What UNESCO Announced for AI Ethics Research
The call was published on UNESCO’s website on 23 September. It presents the initiative as a way to strengthen links between academic scholarship, public policy and practice.
The partners
The call is a joint initiative of UNESCO and the AI and Society Institute at ENS-PSL. It is “grounded in the UNESCO 2021 Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence” and aims to promote emerging research, encourage exchange between disciplines, and connect AI ethics research with the people who write policy.
What selected authors get
Selected authors will present their papers at the 10 December event in Paris, alongside established researchers and members of the Beruniy Prize jury. They will receive expert feedback in thematic sessions. Afterwards, UNESCO and the institute will publish proceedings, and selected authors will be invited to adapt their work for the Tribune of France’s Conseil de l’intelligence artificielle et du numérique (CIANum).
Travel support
Travel support will be offered to one of the selected authors to attend the event in Paris. The call says that author will be identified after the selection process, so applicants should not assume their costs will be covered.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Organisers | UNESCO and the AI and Society Institute, ENS-PSL |
| Eligibility | PhD completed within the past five years, any discipline or region |
| Submission | Anonymised extended abstract of 800 to 1,000 words, plus an author page |
| Deadline | 30 October 2026 |
| Reviewers | Laureates and jury of the UNESCO Beruniy Prize |
| Full paper | About 5,000 to 7,000 words by 1 December 2026 |
| Event | One day, in person, ENS Paris, 10 December 2026 |
| Publication | Event proceedings; invitation to the CIANum Tribune |
The AI Ethics Research Call Timeline
The call runs on a tight schedule, and the gaps between milestones matter as much as the dates themselves.
The five AI ethics research call dates
The call opened on 23 September 2026. Extended abstracts are due by 30 October. Successful applicants will be told by 15 November and must submit a full paper of about 5,000 to 7,000 words by 1 December. The event takes place in Paris on 10 December.
The longest gap is before the deadline, and the tightest is the writing window after selection. The chart shows the days between each milestone, counted from the published dates.
The 16-day writing window
Selected authors have 16 days to turn a 1,000-word abstract into a 5,000 to 7,000-word paper. That works out at roughly 310 to 440 words of finished text a day.
The full paper is up to seven times the length of the abstract. The chart compares the top of each published word range.
In practice, the paper needs to be largely drafted before notification arrives. Anyone who treats the abstract as a plan for a paper they have not started will struggle.
Plan backwards from Paris
The sensible approach is to write the full paper in October, then cut it down to the extended abstract. That way the abstract describes work that exists, the reviewers see a finished argument, and the November window is spent on revision rather than first drafts.
Who Can Apply for This AI Ethics Research Call
The eligibility rules are simple, but they are strict.
PhD within five years
The call is open to researchers who “have completed a PhD within the past 5 years” and whose work addresses the ethics of artificial intelligence. The author page asks for the title, institution and year of PhD completion, so eligibility will be checked against it.
Any discipline, any region
Applications are welcome “from all relevant disciplines and geographic regions”, and interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral perspectives are “particularly encouraged”. Computer scientists, philosophers, lawyers, economists, sociologists and health researchers are all eligible, provided the work concerns AI ethics research.
Co-authored proposals
Co-authored proposals may be submitted, but both authors must meet the eligibility requirements. A recent PhD graduate cannot co-author with a supervisor whose own PhD is more than five years old.
Types of contribution
The call accepts theoretical, empirical, comparative, interdisciplinary and practice-oriented contributions. That breadth is deliberate: UNESCO wants AI ethics research that can travel from the seminar room to a policy meeting.
The 14 AI Ethics Research Topics
Submissions “may address, but are not limited to” 14 areas. They fall naturally into three groups.
Governance and accountability
The governance themes are multistakeholder and adaptive governance; fairness, accountability and transparency; and the ethical dimensions of AI in public policy, research and innovation. These are the areas closest to active regulation, and papers here are most likely to be read by policymakers.
People and rights
The people-centred themes are human rights and AI; awareness and AI ethics literacy; youth, mental health and health; social inclusion; gender equality; and vulnerable or underrepresented groups. The youth theme is timely, given the attention now paid to AI companions and children.
Planet, knowledge and science
The remaining themes are culture and knowledge systems; environment, sustainability and climate action; AI ethics and the Sustainable Development Goals; ethics of AI in STEM and basic sciences; and ethics of AI and frontier technologies.
| Group | Topics in the call | Example research question (our suggestion) |
|---|---|---|
| Governance | Multistakeholder governance; fairness, accountability and transparency; AI in public policy | How should public bodies audit AI used in benefit decisions? |
| People and rights | Human rights; AI ethics literacy; youth and health; inclusion; gender; vulnerable groups | What safeguards should apply to AI companions used by teenagers? |
| Planet and knowledge | Culture and knowledge systems; climate; SDGs; STEM and basic sciences; frontier technologies | Who owns the language data used to build AI for under-served languages? |
Topics outside the list
Because the list is “not limited to” these areas, a strong paper on another AI ethics research question is still eligible. It should explain clearly how it connects to the Recommendation, since that is the frame the reviewers will use.
How to Choose an AI Ethics Research Angle for This Call
The best submissions will not be the broadest. They will be the ones that make one clear, defensible point that the jury has not heard before.
Start from work you have already done
Recent PhD graduates usually have a thesis chapter, a dataset or a set of interviews that has not yet been published in full. That is the strongest starting point for AI ethics research under this call, because the findings already exist and the abstract can report them rather than promise them.
Pick one theme, not three
It is tempting to touch several of the 14 themes to look relevant. Reviewers read that as a lack of focus. Choose the single theme your work fits best, name it in the research question, and mention others only where the link is direct.
Show the policy route
Ask who could act on your findings: a regulator, a ministry, a standards body, a school, a hospital or a company. Naming that audience, and the decision it could make differently, is what turns AI ethics research into the kind of contribution the call is looking for.
Use comparison where you can
Comparative work across countries, languages, sectors or systems suits a UNESCO audience, because its members govern very different contexts. A finding that holds in two countries and fails in a third is often more useful to policymakers than one that holds everywhere.
Consider an eligible co-author from another discipline
Interdisciplinary proposals are “particularly encouraged”. A computer scientist and a lawyer, or a philosopher and a clinician, can produce AI ethics research that neither could write alone, provided both finished their PhD within the past five years.
Writing the Extended Abstract for AI Ethics Research Review
The extended abstract is the only thing the reviewers see, so it has to do the work of a short paper.
The seven required elements
The abstract must include the title of the proposed paper; the research question and its relevance to the call; the conceptual or theoretical framework; the methodology, where applicable; the principal findings or argument; the paper’s contribution to research on the ethics of AI; and three to five keywords.
A suggested word budget
The call sets 800 to 1,000 words, excluding references, but does not say how to divide them. The split below is our suggestion for a 1,000-word abstract, weighted towards the findings and the contribution, which are what distinguish one submission from another.
| Required element | Suggested words | What reviewers will look for |
|---|---|---|
| Research question and relevance | 150 | A precise question tied to one of the 14 themes |
| Conceptual or theoretical framework | 150 | Named frameworks, including the Recommendation where relevant |
| Methodology | 150 | Data, cases or methods stated plainly |
| Principal findings or argument | 300 | Actual results or a clear argument, not a promise of them |
| Contribution to the field | 250 | What is new, and who can use it in policy or practice |
Keep your AI ethics research abstract anonymous
“The extended abstract should not contain the author’s name or other identifying information.” That includes self-citations written in the first person, acknowledgements, project names that identify an institution, and file metadata. Check the author field in the document properties before you save the PDF or Word file.
The author information page
A separate page must give your full name, institutional affiliation, country, email address, the title, institution and year of your PhD, and a biography of no more than 150 words. Submissions must be in English, in Word or PDF format, and are made through an online form linked from the call.
Who Will Judge the Papers: The Beruniy Prize Jury
Proposals will be reviewed by the laureates and jury members of the UNESCO Beruniy Prize for Scientific Research on the Ethics of AI. Knowing who they are helps explain what good AI ethics research looks like to this panel.
The Beruniy Prize
UNESCO set up the prize with the Government of Uzbekistan and named it after Abu Rayhon Beruniy, the Khwarazmian scholar known for work in mathematics, astronomy and philosophy. It is awarded every two years to three laureates, who may be individuals, institutions or organisations. The first ceremony took place on 6 November 2025 in Samarkand, during the 43rd session of UNESCO’s General Conference.
The 2025 laureates
The first laureates were Professor Virgilio Almeida, recognised for advancing ethical, inclusive and human-centred approaches to AI; Professors Susan Perry and Claudia Roda, jointly recognised for their work on youth-centred and anticipatory ethics of AI; and the Institute for AI International Governance at Tsinghua University.
What that tells applicants
The laureates combine research with policy impact, work across disciplines, and cover governance, youth and international cooperation. Papers that show how their findings could change a policy, a standard or a practice are likely to stand out more than purely theoretical work of the same quality.
The Foundation of AI Ethics Research: UNESCO's Recommendation
Every theme in the call is framed by the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, so applicants should know it well.
The first global standard
In November 2021, UNESCO’s 193 Member States adopted the Recommendation, the first global standard on AI ethics. At its core, it says AI must respect human rights and human dignity. Unlike many ethics codes, it also sets out concrete policy actions across areas from gender to data to international cooperation.
The core principles
The Recommendation’s principles include proportionality and do no harm; safety and security; privacy and data protection; multistakeholder and adaptive governance; responsibility and accountability; transparency and explainability; human oversight and determination; sustainability; awareness and literacy; and fairness and non-discrimination.
Anchoring AI ethics research in the Recommendation
A strong submission names the principle or policy area it addresses and explains what its findings mean for implementing it. That turns a general AI ethics research paper into one that speaks directly to the organisers’ purpose, which is connecting scholarship to policy.
The Paris Event and Publication Route
The 10 December event is more than a conference slot.
The programme
The one-day, in-person event at ENS will include expert talks or fireside conversations, presentations of selected research, moderated discussions and interactive “AI ethics labs” that examine concrete research dilemmas, questions of method and policy challenges. General attendance is open to everyone, with registration on UNESCO’s website.
Proceedings, the CIANum Tribune and your AI ethics research
After the event, UNESCO and the AI and Society Institute will publish proceedings of the contributions and discussions. Selected authors will also be invited to adapt their work for the CIANum Tribune, reaching a wider public and policy audience than a journal article usually does.
The AI and Society Institute
The AI and Society Institute was created in December 2023 and is managed jointly by ENS, Université Paris Dauphine-PSL and Université PSL, together with the AI and Society association. It works on four areas: AI and social justice, the future of work, AI robustness and security, and language, images and disinformation in the age of generative AI. The robustness strand overlaps with cybersecurity, a growing concern for anyone deploying AI. Constance de Leusse is executive director and Hugo Mercier is scientific director.
Common Mistakes That Sink AI Ethics Research Submissions
Most rejected abstracts fail on basics rather than ideas. These are the traps this call’s rules make most likely.
Missing the eligibility window
If your PhD was completed more than five years ago, you are not eligible, and neither is a co-authored proposal where one author falls outside the window.
Leaving identifying details in
An abstract that names the author, the lab or a distinctive project can be excluded from anonymous review. Read it once purely for identifying details before submitting.
Going over the word count
The limit is 1,000 words excluding references. Going over suggests an argument that has not been sharpened, and it is the easiest rule for a reviewer to check.
Describing a topic instead of a contribution
“This paper explores fairness in AI” is a topic. “This paper shows that three fairness audits of the same hiring system reached opposite conclusions, and proposes a rule for choosing between them” is a contribution. Reviewers look for the second.
Ignoring policy relevance
The call exists to connect AI ethics research with policy and practice. An abstract that never says who could act on its findings misses the point of the programme.
Why AI Ethics Research Matters to Businesses
This is an academic call, but its output will reach companies faster than most research does.
Research becomes rules
Ideas debated at events like this one feed into standards, procurement rules and regulation. UNESCO already tracks how ready countries are to apply the Recommendation through its Global AI Ethics and Governance Observatory. Businesses that follow AI ethics research can see which controls are likely to be expected of them before the expectation is written down.
Access to early-career expertise
The call will bring together recent PhD graduates working on exactly the problems companies now face, from fairness testing to AI in health. The proceedings are a free map of that talent.
Turning principles into practice
Most organisations do not need to write papers, but they do need a governance process that reflects these principles. Our AI governance framework for SMEs and our analysis of Augmentation Without Abdication show how to do that at a practical scale. Our AI strategy service helps teams build it into their plans.
Frequently Asked Questions About the UNESCO AI Ethics Research Call
Who is organising the call for papers?
UNESCO and the AI and Society Institute at the École normale supérieure (ENS-PSL) in Paris.
Who can apply?
Researchers who completed a PhD within the past five years and whose work addresses the ethics of artificial intelligence, from any discipline and any region.
What is the deadline?
30 October 2026. Successful applicants will be notified by 15 November and must submit a full paper by 1 December.
What do I need to submit?
An anonymised extended abstract of 800 to 1,000 words, excluding references, with seven required elements, and a separate author information page. Both must be in English, in Word or PDF.
Who reviews the submissions?
The laureates and jury members of the UNESCO-Uzbekistan Beruniy Prize for Scientific Research on the Ethics of AI.
Is travel to Paris paid for?
Travel support will be offered to one selected author, identified after the selection process. Other authors should plan to cover their own costs.
References
Call for papers: Advancing research on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
Ethics of Artificial Intelligence: The Recommendation
UNESCO-Uzbekistan Beruniy Prize for Scientific Research on the Ethics of AI
Beruniy Prize: Meet the Laureates of the 2025 Edition
AI and Society Institute, ENS-PSL
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