Beneficial and Ethical AI at UConn
About BEACON
We are a group of University of Connecticut graduate students and advanced undergraduates who care about making AI safe, ethical, and beneficial to the public. Our mission is to equip interested students with the knowledge, research skills, and mentorship they need to make a difference.
Highlighted Work
Students who do projects connected to the club may post them to our blog.
Summit for the NYU Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy, Lightening Talk “The Ethics of Creating and Using AI Simulations of Populations”, (Kaley Rittichier) - Spring 2025
AI & Liability Ideathon by AI-Plans, “Audits and Transparency for AI Safety Liability” (Aidan Kierans, Kaley Rittichier, and Utku Sonsayar) presentation - Fall 2024
US Congressional Presentation AI expo presentation: malicious reasoning in a latent space (Aidan Kierans and Pranay Narula) - Spring 2024
Reading Groups
AI Safety Technical Fellowship
BEACON invites you to apply for our 10-week reading group fellowship! Join a group of advanced undergraduate and graduate students that are interested in researching AI safety. The AI Safety Technical Fellowship focuses on risk factors and technical solutions to making AI safe, and how to begin researching to help. Fellowship groups meet weekly for reading and discussion over a free meal.
Apply now for the Spring 2026 application cycle!
AI Safety Policy Fellowship
BEACON invites you to apply for our 10-week reading group fellowship! Join a group of advanced undergraduate and graduate students that are interested in policy and governance for AI Safety. The AI Safety Policy Fellowship focuses on learning how you can contribute to policy to ensure that AI is beneficial. Fellowship groups meet weekly for reading and discussion over a free meal.
Apply now for the Spring 2026 application cycle!
AI Safety in Finance and Economics Fellowship & Research Group (NEW !)
BEACON invites you to apply for our 10-week AI Safety in Economics and Finance fellowship! Join advanced undergraduate and graduate students interested in the the intersection of AI safety, economic systems, and financial markets.
This implementation-heavy fellowship combines rigorous readings with hands-on work creating financial agents and testing them in real-world scenarios while developing safety guardrails.
Apply now for the Spring 2026 Application cycle!
Contact Us
Interested in working together? Fill out some info and we will be in touch shortly. We can’t wait to hear from you!