Yale Graduate Wins Lafayette Fellowship to Study AI and Society

According to Yale News, Stella Choi '26, a recent Yale College graduate, is a member of the first cohort of 30 Lafayette fellows, a scholarship created by the French Embassy in the United States and administered with Villa Albertine to deepen academic and cultural exchange between France and the U.S. Yale News reports Choi studied cognitive science and education at Yale with a focus on how AI is changing educational contexts, authored the children's book "Should Leif Trust Birdie the AI?: An Educational Introduction to Digital Literacy," and completed a senior thesis examining the effects of that book on children's AI knowledge and trust. Yale News reports Choi will pursue a master's in AI and society at the Paris School of AI within Universite Paris Sciences & Lettres (PSL). The inaugural cohort was announced on June 1 and is scheduled to be welcomed in Paris on July 4, coinciding with the 250th anniversary of American independence. Yale News quotes Mohamed Bouabdallah, cultural counselor of France in the United States and director of Villa Albertine: "The Lafayette Fellowship is an investment in the next generation of American leaders and in the enduring friendship and partnership between France and the United States."

For practitioners: fellowships that combine social-science training with technical study, like a master's in AI and society, typically expose participants to interdisciplinary approaches (ethics, policy, pedagogy) that inform AI literacy efforts. Such programs often create small, networked cohorts who later contribute to curriculum design, evaluation methods, and public-facing educational tools.

reporting frames the Lafayette Fellowship as part of broader transatlantic investments in AI education and cultural exchange. Per a PRNewswire press release from Villa Albertine (May 21, 2026), the fellowship partners with 15 leading French institutions and is supported by Albertine Foundation. For educators and researchers, the program highlights continued institutional interest in AI literacy, early-childhood digital literacy interventions, and cross-border collaboration on responsible AI education.

For observers: track the Paris School of AI's curriculum offerings for the master's in AI and society, publications or evaluation results from fellows' projects on AI literacy, and whether similar fellowships scale or spawn collaborative initiatives between U.S. universities and French institutions.