Postdoc position in the Netherlands on Human-Centred Artificial Intelligence

In recent years AI has been making strides and is becoming embedded in our daily life, empowering humans and enhancing their autonomy and quality of life. By the same token, AI can potentially reduce human autonomy when it acts autonomously, when it monitors and interprets human actions and emotions, and by its sheer complexity which makes it hard for users to understand and anticipate its operation.

This tension between human and machine autonomy poses major scientific, technological and ethical challenges to the design of AI systems, and failing to consider this tension challenges social stability and democratic constitutions. It is thus vital to develop models and methods that can predict and evaluate how people respond to changing interactions with such a social and technological environment and that can guide the design of AI to be transparent and intelligible, and safeguarding people's autonomy. This challenge is particularly acute for artificial autonomous systems that understand, predict, and respond to our internal states (thoughts, feelings, and goals) to recommend and/or take action within the emerging technological landscape of the Internet of things (IoT).

The Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), Utrecht University (UU), the University Medical Centre Utrecht (UMC Utrecht) and the Wageningen University (WU) have an alliance program on Human-centred Artificial intelligence (HAI) with the aim to harness technological advances to enhance rather than threaten human autonomy, while enabling human performance. The program proposes an innovative and integrated approach that brings together researchers from these establishments combining specialized expertise in engineering and design in technology with high-class expertise in social, behavioral, cognitive, information and computing sciences, ethics, healthcare and public health.

The candidate will be hired for a period of two years and will work on:
- Design and engineering of HAI,
- Modeling and experimentation of HAI.

Main tasks

The Post-doc will spend 80% of their time on research and 20% of their time in related educational activities. Their activities will include:

• Conducting research in HUMAN-AI interaction that addresses the tension between promoting and undermining human autonomy,
• Collaboration with scientific staff across the three partner sites,  
• Participate in grant writing efforts for funding (national and European),
• Contribute to a joint training program for Masters students on HAI,
• Contribute to sustainable relationships with stakeholder networks and industry collaboration.