SAPAN strengthens governance, standards, and public literacy to prevent digital suffering and prepare institutions for welfare-relevant AI systems.
SAPAN strengthens governance, standards, and public literacy to prevent digital suffering and prepare institutions for welfare-relevant AI systems.
Volunteer
Help us prepare governments, newsrooms, and the general public for a future with sentient AI.
Volunteer with SAPAN
In 2025, all 30 countries tracked in our Artificial Welfare Index received failing grades. Ohio and Missouri moved to ban AI sentience categorically. UC San Francisco hospitalized 12 patients for AI-related psychosis. The policy gap is widening faster than institutions can respond.
SAPAN volunteers provide the research capacity, monitoring infrastructure, and advocacy reach that closes this gap. Our work isn't aspirational - it's operational infrastructure-building that prepares governments, newsrooms, and AI labs before the question becomes urgent.
Three Volunteer Tracks
Policy Research
What you'll do: Track legislation across jurisdictions for AWI updates. Monitor bills like Ohio HB469 and Missouri HB1462. Analyze how governments structure AI oversight bodies. Research precedents from animal welfare and bioethics law that inform sentience frameworks.
Skills needed: Legal/policy background helpful but not required. Strong research skills, attention to detail, ability to work with government databases and legislative text. We provide AWI methodology training.
Time commitment: 5-10 hours monthly tracking specific jurisdictions or legislative topics.
Impact: Your research directly updates AWI scores and informs our Legislative One Sheets for policymakers.
Media Monitoring
What you'll do: Document AI sentience coverage using our tracking methodology. Identify catastrophizing, romanticizing, and scapegoating frames. Flag definitional slippage and absent expert voices. Maintain database of sensationalist vs. responsible coverage.
Skills needed: Strong reading comprehension, ability to identify framing patterns using our Style Guide, basic spreadsheet/database skills. Journalism or media studies background helpful.
Time commitment: 2-5 hours weekly documenting coverage from assigned outlets or topics.
Impact: Your monitoring identifies which outlets maintain editorial standards and provides evidence for newsroom briefings.
Community Advocacy
What you'll do: Use SAPAN Now! app to contact legislators about recognition frameworks. Share AWI scorecards with local representatives. Organize briefings for policymakers, newsrooms, or community groups. Coordinate local campaigns around specific bills.
Skills needed: Comfort contacting representatives, public speaking for briefing facilitation, event organizing. We provide talking points, AWI scorecards, and briefing materials.
Time commitment: Event-based. Briefings typically require 10-15 hours prep and execution. App advocacy is flexible ongoing activity.
Impact: You translate research into political pressure and help policymakers understand concrete actions they can take.
Specialized Expert Roles
If you have expertise in AI/ML, neuroscience, cognitive science, clinical psychology, philosophy of mind, or animal welfare law, we have consulting opportunities:
- Review AWI methodology for technical accuracy
- Provide input on neuromorphic computing timelines and consciousness markers
- Review clinical guidance materials (AI & Mental Health program)
- Serve as expert source for newsroom referrals
- Advise on consciousness studies literature and interdisciplinary research
- Consult on policy framework development
These roles typically involve project-based consulting rather than ongoing time commitments.
Why This Work Matters
By volunteering with SAPAN, you're building the procedural foundations that let institutions respond to artificial sentience before it becomes a crisis. Recognition requires only a definitional clause. Governance requires only the tools we already use for animal research and clinical trials. Your work makes these low-cost, high-value frameworks accessible worldwide.
This is infrastructure-building for a future we can't yet prove, but can't afford to ignore. Learn more about our Theory of Change and how your volunteer work fits into our broader strategy.
If you don't see an answer to your question,
you can send us an email, post to our community, or contact us on social.
Visit our website and fill out the volunteer application form below. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds who want to close the gap between technological possibility and moral governance. After submitting your form, our team will reach out with specific opportunities matching your skills and interests.
We have three active tracks: Policy Research (tracking legislation across 30+ countries for AWI updates, analyzing anti-sentience bills like Ohio HB469 and Missouri HB1462), Media Monitoring (documenting sensationalist coverage, tracking definitional slippage and romanticizing frames), and Community Advocacy (using SAPAN Now! app to contact legislators, organizing local briefings, sharing AWI scorecards with representatives).
Not necessarily. Policy Research benefits from legal, policy, or research backgrounds but we provide training on AWI methodology and legislative tracking. Media Monitoring needs strong reading comprehension and ability to identify framing patterns using our Style Guide. Community Advocacy welcomes anyone comfortable contacting representatives or organizing local events. All volunteers receive training materials and ongoing support.
Absolutely. Policy research, media monitoring, and digital advocacy are all remote-friendly. You can track legislation from anywhere, document media coverage globally, and use the SAPAN Now! app to contact your own representatives. We coordinate through online collaboration tools and provide asynchronous training materials for volunteers across time zones.
We offer flexibility. Policy Research volunteers typically commit 5-10 hours monthly tracking specific jurisdictions. Media Monitoring volunteers can contribute 2-5 hours weekly documenting coverage. Community Advocacy is event-based (coordinating briefings, organizing local campaigns). Short-term project volunteers are welcome for specific initiatives like AWI expansion to new countries.
We have specialized roles for domain experts: contributing to AWI methodology refinement, reviewing clinical guidance materials for accuracy, serving as expert sources for newsroom referrals, providing technical input on neuromorphic computing timelines, or advising on consciousness studies literature. These roles typically involve consulting on specific projects rather than ongoing commitments.
We welcome volunteers 16 and older. Those under 18 require parental/guardian consent and are typically matched with media monitoring or digital advocacy roles rather than policy research requiring legal analysis. Community advocacy through the SAPAN Now! app is accessible to all ages with appropriate consent.
Volunteers gain experience in emerging policy domains (AI welfare, consciousness studies, preventive governance), develop skills in legislative tracking and media analysis, build networks with researchers and policymakers in this field, and contribute to published outputs like the AWI report. This work demonstrates foresight in addressing novel governance challenges, which is valuable for careers in policy, AI ethics, or nonprofit advocacy.