PhD position: The Bright Side and Dark Side of Emerging Technologies in the Media Industry (0,8-...

We are in an increasing need to access personalized, adaptive, and dynamic information in real time. Advanced enabling technologies for Metaverse, such as AI, AR/VR, Web3.0, IoT, NFT, and edge computing, provide us ample possibilities by embedding the information in an appropriate time and space, which provides users new ways to interact with both the physical and the virtual world. These emerging technologies are changing the landscape of news organizations and media industries. On the one hand, emerging technologies create new opportunities for news organizations. For example, VR allows users to have a deeper level of interaction, connectedness and empathy with news stories. Robot journalism (i.e., automated journalism) allows news organizations to test headlines, source information and identify trending stories. Wearable journalism, using AR smart glasses or contact lenses, allows instant update and composition of stories. On the other hand, technologies such as image manipulation, deep fakes, fake news certainly speed up the spread of misinformation and pose threats to authentic media. This project will investigate both the bright side and the dark side that emerging technologies play in the media sector.

This project is part of the Gravitation programme Public Values in the Algorithmic Society (algosoc ). The Gravitation program is an initiative by the Dutch government to support excellent research in the Netherlands. The funding is reserved for scientific consortia that have the potential to rank among the world's best in their field. algosoc is a response to the urgent need for an informed societal perspective on automated decision making. Funded by the ministry for Education, Culture and Science for a period for 10 years, research in the algosoc programme will be grounded in a deep understanding of the systemic changes that automated decision making entails for core public institutions, for society, and for how public values are realised. The research will focus on three sectors: justice, health, and media. The programme brings together researchers in law, communication science, computer science, philosophy, public governance, STS, economy, and social sciences from five Dutch universities (Amsterdam, Utrecht, Tilburg, Delft and Rotterdam). Together, the algosoc community will develop solutions for the design of governance frameworks needed to complement technology-driven initiatives in the algorithmic society.

The current position is part of the algosoc media sector and is located in Rotterdam. As a PhD candidate, you will get the unique opportunity to help shape the research programme with your research plan. Closely collaborating with your fellow PhDs and mentored by top scholars from various disciplines, you are encouraged and supported to conduct your PhD project.

What you are going to do:

• Develop, conduct, and publish research on the effects of algorithmic decision making;
• Contribute to the public debate and organise outreach activities of algosoc;
• Contribute to the overall programme in terms of community building, events, research meetings, and activities;
• Collaborate with other researchers within the algosoc consortium;
• Give guest-lectures in the area of your expertise at bachelor and master level;
• Help co-supervising research projects of students working on related topics.