PhD in Philosophy and Ethics of Quantum-Safe Technology

Do you enjoy working in an interdisciplinary research setting on intellectually challenging and societally relevant questions? The Institute for Logic, Language and Computation is looking for an ambitious PhD candidate. Your research is part of the NWO-funded research project 'Quantum Impact on Societal Security'.

As the potential risks and consequences of cybersecurity breaches by future quantum computers are devastating, there is an urgent need to prepare for a transition to quantum-safe cryptography (QSC). Addressing the many complexities of this transition requires a multidisciplinary collaboration of academic experts, financial and governmental institutions, and civil society groups. The 'Quantum Impact on Societal Security' (QISS) consortium will analyse the ethical, legal and societal impact of this upcoming society-wide transition. QISS's objective is to contribute to the creation of a Dutch ecosystem where quantum-safe cryptography can thrive, and mobilize this ecosystem to align technological applications with ethical, legal, and social values.

QISS is a project led by the University of Amsterdam and carried out together with QuSoft , Fontys University of Applied Sciences and other academic, governmental, financial, and societal partners. The project leader is Dr. Sebastian De Haro and the co-PIs are Prof. Dr. Christian Schaffner , Prof. Dr. Sonja Smets , Mr. Ot van Daalen , Prof. Dr. Joris van Hoboken , Mr. Dr. Bart Wernaart , and Prof. Dr. Jeroen van Dongen .

QISS is funded by the National Science Agenda of NWO, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Dutch Banking Association. You will be part of a new research group, hosted at the Amsterdam Science Park .

We specifically encourage women and other underrepresented groups to apply for this position.

What are you going to do

Your research will be on the ethical aspects of QSC and will in particular aim to contribute to align public values with innovations that are triggered by the transition to QSC. Your PhD will be supervised by experts at the Institute for Logic , Language and Computation and the Institute of Physics , in collaboration with Fontys University of Applied Sciences. You will be an active member of the Dutch quantum community, and part of the Amsterdam quantum hub bringing together top scientists and scholars, engineers, students, and businesses. At QISS, you will work closely together with another PhD candidate, two postdocs, and the project's (co-)PIs. You will work together with Fontys University of Applied Sciences, societal partners (ECP | InformatieSamenleving , Quantum Delta NL , Digital Power Datahub ) and financial and governmental institutions.

Your specific tasks will include:

• identifying the key features of the moral dilemmas of the QSC transition; designing and applying the required philosophical frameworks for the analysis of these dilemmas;
• developing a conceptual model of the impact of QSC technologies on key public values, such as security, equality, inclusivity, privacy, transparency, explainability, reliability, and balance of power;
• using art-based intervention methods embodied in a Moral Lab, you will help the team design and run simulations of future interactive scenarios that enable citizens and stakeholders to better understand a quantum-safe future;
• writing academic publications in relevant peer-reviewed international journals;
• presenting at international workshops and conferences;
• facilitating societal dialogues through a Societal Incubator, you will help the team embed QSC technology within society and track societal embeddedness levels;
• engaging in team-work and interdisciplinary collaboration.

PhD candidates furthermore are expected to contribute to the institute's educational mission, e.g., by working as teaching assistants for courses in their area of expertise and by assisting with the supervision of student research projects.