PhD Researcher on Decentralising AI Governance

Are you eager to investigate the intersection of AI, society, and governance? We are seeking a PhD candidate to join our research team as part of the EU Horizon FORSEE project, dedicated to improving our understanding of what successful AI for society as a whole requires. As part of an international consortium, you’ll help examine and develop feedback mechanisms with a greater scope of reporting and contextual diversity to improve AI oversight and accountability across sectors like public administration and energy. If you're ready to shape a future where AI benefits all, we’d love to hear from you!

While the technological capabilities of AI applications are advancing rapidly, we lack a clear understanding of what defines successful AI for society as a whole and of the conditions of possibility for successful AI deployment. For the most part successful AI has been defined in technological and economic terms: as a set of scalable technologies that improve accuracy and efficiency in tasks associated with problem solving and cognition; and as contributing to increases in productivity and economic growth. However, AI applications are not deployed in a vacuum: rather, they are conceived, developed, deployed and received in a social context, and as such they both reflect and reinforce existing social (mis)conceptions, biases and faults, as well as aspirations and hopes. To understand what makes AI systems succeed or fail, we need to know for whom, and under what conditions. As such it is important not only to think about AI as posing definable risks and opportunities, but to also analyse how these occur in societal domains, and where along the AI production and deployment process they occur.

As AI becomes used at scale, understanding what constitutes a successful AI application requires feedback loops to identify and track emergent effects of these applications as well as different and changing conceptions of their success or failure. Given that AI will be deployed in many social and administrative contexts, this requires more than the current governance paradigm of centralised, expert-led regulation. This project will investigate possibilities for feedback mechanisms with greater coverage, scope of reporting, and contextual diversity. Using ethnographic methods (interviewing, participant observation in relation to real-world applications of AI), this project will develop both conceptual tools and concrete measures for expanding the scope and reach of AI oversight by integrating it with existing sectoral and collective-level mechanisms for democratic feedback and accountability. Moreover, it will map and categorize the risks and opportunities of AI applications that emerge within sectors, such as the energy sector or public administration. This mapping will be used to examine which of the risks and opportunities are within the focus of current (regulatory) governance of AI and which fall outside of their purview. 

Linked to the EU Horizon project FORSEE, this PhD will also lead junior researchers on tasks such as reviews of the regulatory literature and applicable legal frameworks, and will collaborate with other universities within the FORSEE group to produce a methodological roadmap for operationalising systematic and robust feedback loops with civil society, and a governance roadmap to guide the sustainable implementation of such feedback loops.

The successful candidate is expected to manage some of FORSEE’s administrative tasks of TILT, join and present at project meetings, and may be asked to perform other duties occasionally which are not included above, but which will be consistent with the PhD topic and position (e.g. assist with the organising workshops or conferences).

Besides this, the candidate is expected to participate in the daily academic life at TILT such as workshops and seminars, and – as part of the academic training – to conduct a limited amount of teaching and Master`s thesis supervision, and some other research and educational tasks, as well as some project administration (the division of tasks is approximately 80% research and 20% other tasks).

This job is situated at TILT, the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology and Society.

Requirements:

This job is suited for you if you are interested in interdisciplinary collaboration and creative thinking; curious about developing new methodologies and are familiar with researching the effects of technology within, and in collaboration with, civil society. You have some experience with qualitative empirical research and have an affinity with Artificial Intelligence or digital technologies. 

Below you can find the qualifications we consider important for the position.

• Completed master degree in Public Policy, Science and Technology Studies, Sociology, Law, Anthropology, Philosophy of Technology, or a related degree;
• Experience with qualitative empirical research skills; 
• Project management and organisation skills; 
• Excellent writing and communication skills in English. Knowledge of the Dutch language is an asset, but not required;  
• The ability to collaborate with non-academic partners, exchange ideas, and communicate knowledge to non-expert audiences;  
• Awareness of ethical concerns and scientific integrity in conducting research;  
• The ability to contribute to an open and inclusive organizational culture;
• Experience or affinity with working in a multidisciplinary environment; 
• International experience would be an asset. 

To maintain a vibrant and active university community, it is important that we meet each other regularly and that the connection between us remains good. Therefore, the premise is that all staff members carry out their work in the Netherlands.

TILT is a diverse workplace, and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We encourage all qualified applicants, including those of minoritised ethnic or gender identity, people with disabilities, and members of other groups underrepresented in academia, to apply. If you are not sure if you are *the candidate* for this position, we welcome your application nevertheless.

International PhD’s with scholarships below the IND income standard (€1,564) are unfortunately not eligible for this vacancy. 

Salary Benefits:

Our offer 

Tilburg University offers excellent benefits in a pleasant working environment: 

• A position based on 1,0 fte (40 hours per week). 
• A salary of €2.872 gross per month for full-time employment, based on UFO profile Promovendus and salary scale P. Tilburg University uses a neutral remuneration system based on relevant work experience. 
• This is a vacancy for a PhD position in accordance with Article 2.3 paragraph 8 sub b CLA DU. It is a vacancy for 48 months. You will initially be appointed for a fixed period of 16 months with a statutory probationary period of two months. After 12 months, an evaluation will take place. If the performance evaluation is positive, your employment agreement will be extended for the remaining period of 2 months.
• Vacation pay of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3%. 
• Over 8 weeks of vacation leave. 
• The opportunity to work partly on campus and partly from home with a home office allowance of €2 per day.
• Reimbursement for sustainable commuting: walking, cycling, and public transport. 
• A monthly internet allowance of €25.
• An options model in which you exchange benefits for things such as additional leave, more pension, a bicycle or personal training at our Sports Center. 
• A moving allowance (subject to conditions). 
• Employees from abroad may be eligible for a tax-free allowance for extraterritorial expenses equal to 30% of taxable salary. 
• A pension with ABP; the largest Dutch pension fund.
• Training in personal development, career development, leadership, education, and research. Or a language course at our Language Center. 
• A work culture in which we embrace differences, everyone is welcome and given equal opportunities. 
• A vibrant campus in green surroundings that is easily accessible by public transport. 

For more information, see our website and the CLA Dutch Universities. 

40 hours per week

Warandelaan 2