PhD candidate Monika Jankowska, has been awarded the highly competitive Chateaubriand Fellowship in Humanities and Social Sciences for the 2025–2026 academic year. Sponsored by the Embassy of France in the United States, the fellowship supports doctoral research in France and promotes academic exchange between the two countries.
Jankowska’s ethnographic research investigates the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) systems in the legal sectors of France and China. Her comparative project examines how local conditions shape the design and implementation of legal AI tools, and how these tools influence who performs legal work and how. The research explores both the technical possibilities and the ethical, linguistic, and institutional challenges of AI in law.
“The opportunity to conduct fieldwork in France will significantly deepen the comparative dimension of my dissertation,” said Jankowska. “It will also allow me to expand my expertise in linguistic anthropology and legal institutions in a global context.”
During her fellowship, Jankowska will be affiliated with a French research institution, working closely with a French advisor and scholars in the field.
The Chateaubriand Fellowship provides a monthly stipend, round-trip airfare to France, and health insurance. Fellows are selected through a rigorous binational review process, with evaluation criteria including the scholarly merit of the project and its contribution to U.S.-France research collaboration.