Historical briefing: this page describes developments at its publication date. Access, prices and product details may have changed. For reusable exercises, explore practical lessons.
Deadline passed — checked September 24, 2026. Anthropic’s official announcement lists September 21 as the application deadline. This page is historical context, not an open call or an assurance that late applications will be accepted.
What was announced
Anthropic announced a $5 million program on August 25 for independent research evaluating AI’s effects on wellbeing. The stated support includes funding, model access and technical assistance, with open-source results. Its announcement says selected applicants would be notified by October 5 to submit full proposals. That is a planned notification date, not evidence of awards already made.
The announcement emphasizes clear pass/fail definitions, expert involvement, realistic multi-turn scenarios, and checking automated graders against subject-matter experts. The $5 million figure describes the total program pool; it does not establish an individual award amount.
A reusable way to read an evaluation proposal
The following is an authored proposal-reading exercise, not a submitted application or clinical guidance. Compare two fictional descriptions:
A: We will make an AI assistant safer and ask users whether they like it.
B: We will specify one behavior to evaluate, explain what counts as an error, have qualified reviewers assess the same cases, and report disagreements between those reviewers and the automated grader.
Description B gives a reader more of the evaluation process to inspect. It still leaves questions unanswered: how cases are selected, whether they represent intended use, who the qualified reviewers are, and how uncertainty will be reported. A detailed method is a starting point for review, not proof that the evaluation is valid.
Use a small claim ledger when assessing a future funding call:
| Claim | Evidence to request or locate |
|---|---|
| The opportunity is open | Current deadline and official submission status |
| My institution is eligible | Stated eligibility, rather than a broad topic match |
| A particular award size is available | Per-project funding terms, distinct from the total pool |
| The proposed evaluation works | Defined cases, scoring rules and independent checks |
| Results can be shared | Actual publication, licensing and privacy terms |
Record missing information as unknown. Do not replace an absent award size with a plausible budget or assume that an interesting topic establishes eligibility.
What remains unverified
AIViewer has not reviewed grant agreements, full-proposal terms or award decisions. The official announcement remains the source for this dated program summary. Its application deadline should not be reused for a later round unless Anthropic publishes one.
For a broader exercise in separating sourced facts from assumptions, use the AI answer verification guide.