2-years post-doc position in neuro-computational AI ethics

3 Apr 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Sorbonne Université

Research Field

Mathematics » Other
Neurosciences » Other
Computer science » Other

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)
Recognised Researcher (R2)
Established Researcher (R3)
Leading Researcher (R4)

Country

France

Application Deadline

7 May 2024 - 00:00 (Europe/Paris)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Offer Starting Date

1 Jul 2024

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

HE / EIC

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

Context :
The CAVAA European project (https://cavaa.eu/ ) proposes to realize a theory of awareness instantiated as an integrated computational architecture and its components to explain awareness in biological systems and engineer it in technological ones. In a world governed by hidden states, awareness enables to deal with the “invisible”, from unexplored environments (counterfactual pasts and futures) to social interaction that depends on the internal states of agents and moral norms. In particular, we will study such cognitive architecture agents’ ability and propensity of reasoning, decision-making, or revisiting past experiences, but also reflecting upon what was right or wrong given some moral norms, and which possible future states could be right or wrong. CAVAA’s awareness engineering is accompanied by an ethics framework towards human users and aware artefacts in the broader spectrum of trustworthy AI, considering shared goals, counterfactuals and projections towards new future scenarios, and prediction of the impact of choices. CAVAA aims to deliver a better user experience because of its explainability, adaptability, and legibility.

Location and environment : 
The post-doc position will be located in the Institute of Intelligent Systems and Robotics (ISIR, http://www.isir.upmc.fr ), Paris, France. ISIR belongs to Sorbonne Université, CNRS and INSERM, and is located in the center of Paris, thus at walking distance from the Seine river, from other academic institutions (La Sorbonne, Collège de France, Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Université Paris Cité, Hôpital la Pitié Salpétrière), and from famous monuments (Notre Dame, Conciergerie, Panthéon, Théâtre du Châtelet, Institut du Monde Arabe). Speaking or understanding French is not required. This work will be done in close collaborations with philosophers, engineers and computational neuroscientists of the CAVAA consortium.

Mission :
The post-doc work will focus on ethical reasoning through virtualization, deliberation and alignment with human values. The theoretical framework will be anchored on probabilistic model-based reinforcement learning, extended to include homeostatic, epistemic and social values, including social conventions and moral norms as starting point. Research will investigate learning through interaction with the environment and with other agents, social decision-making, mental simulation and counterfactual reasoning to inform humans about potential long-term consequences of actions. The model will be confronted to experimental data about human decision-making when confronted to various social and moral dilemmas. The model will be integrated into the CAVAA cognitive architecture and applied in artificial agents and robots in virtual and real-world scenarios involving spatial navigation and social interaction.

Requirements

Research Field

Computer science » Other

Education Level

PhD or equivalent

Research Field

Mathematics » Other

Education Level

PhD or equivalent

Research Field

Neurosciences » Other

Education Level

PhD or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

We are looking for highly motivated candidates with a strong academic record. An excellent background is expected at the interface between computational neuroscience and machine learning. Significant experience in cognitive architectures and computational modeling for neuroscience, psychology, AI or cognitive robotics will be appreciated. Mastery of reinforcement learning and game theory, and advanced programming skills in modern C++ and python are required. A strong interest in philosophy of mind and moral philosophy is expected.

Languages

FRENCH

Level

Good

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Excellent

Research Field

Computer science » OtherNeurosciences » OtherMathematics » Other

Additional Information
Selection process

Applicants should send a CV, letter of motivation (max 2 pages), and a list of two references via e-mail to [email protected] and [email protected] . Please put [CAVAA post-doc application] in the subject of the mail. Review of applicants will begin immediately, and will continue until the position is filled.

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Sorbonne Université

Country

France

City

Paris 05 - 75

Postal Code

75005

Street

4 PLACE JUSSIEU

Geofield

Where to apply

E-mail

[email protected]

Contact

City

Paris

Website

http://www.sorbonne-universite.fr/
https://cavaa.eu/
http://www.isir.upmc.fr

Street

4 place Jussieu

Postal Code

75005

E-Mail

[email protected]
[email protected]

STATUS: EXPIRED