The Department of Philosophy of the University Twente in the Netherlands is looking for a Postdoc (18-month position) in Ethics of Big Data as part of a large European project on ethical and human rights aspects of smart big data systems.

The Challenge
The aim of this postdoc project is to do an ethical study of big data systems and their implications for society, and to contribute to answers to the question as to how these systems should be regulated, what ethical codes and protocols there should be in place, and what the responsibility of various actors is with respect to them. This study will be performed in the context of a large European project, SHERPA, on ethical and human rights dimensions of big data.

In the postdoc project, about half your time will be devoted to ethical case studies and scenario studies of various types of big data systems and their use in various types of settings (including big data systems that process information about citizens, consumers, and employees). Some possible topics for case studies are: Google’s search engine, AI algorithms used in Facebook and other social media, Amazon’s Alexa home assistant, Apple’s iPhone with GPS tracking, predictive policing, block chain technologies, automated share-dealing, personal fitness applications. The remainder of your time will be devoted to developing ethical guidelines and regulatory options for the responsible development and use of big data systems. You will be writing reports for the project (often together with others), and you will also have some time to work on academic publications.

The application deadline is February 28th, 2018. Interviews will be held about one week after this date. Since only three documents can be uploaded per application, please combine documents if needed.