The department of philosophy at the University of Twente is looking for an Assistant Professor in ethics and epistemology of AI “Philosophy, ethics and regulation of the digital society in relation to AI” (tenure-track, full-time, for fall 2020 or spring 2021) 

The Challenge
In your research, you unravel the intricate connections between the epistemological and ethical aspects of Artificial Intelligence. AI is a cognitive technology: by analyzing data it supplies to knowledge making processes, and the development of interpretative frameworks. But while the ethical dimensions of AI have a central role in academic research and societal debate, its epistemological dimensions remain under-investigated. Yet, it is this epistemic significance that forms the basis of many ethical discussions, especially where AI systems form a basis for human decision-making, or when these systems take ‘decisions’ themselves. What, for example, can ‘epistemic responsibility’ mean in these cases? This could involve methods and approaches from the epistemology, ethics, philosophy of science and philosophy of technology, in relation to concrete scientific and technological practices and available empirical work on these practices.

Key activities in your research are co-acquisition and co-execution of research projects, , producing high quality journal publications, and securing (inter)national scholarly visibility. Your research will be embedded in the research programme in philosophy and ethics of technology of the department of philosophy and in university-wide multidisciplinary centres in such as those in digital technologies, medical technology, nanotechnology, and in humanities and social sciences research programmes in the assessment of emerging technologies. You will engage in multidisciplinary research with four other assistant professors in humanities and social sciences who are being hired simultaneously in the development of a platform for ‘Strategic Intelligence for Digitalization of Societal Domains’ (SI4DS). You also participate in the interuniversity 4TU.Center for Ethics and Technology (www.ethicsandtechnology.eu).

You teach courses within your specialization area in the master programme in Philosophy of Science, Technology and Society (PSTS), as well as introductory courses for bachelor and master programs in science & engineering and social science. You are involved in the supervision of master’s theses in the PSTS programme and will at some point supervise PhD students.

We would like to explore the option of you participating in Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies (https://www.esdt.nl/), a new, prestigious ten-year long international research programme of seven academic institutions in the Netherlands that will run from January 2020 to December 2029 and has a combined budget of € 27 million.

Information and application
For more information, please contact Prof. dr. Ciano Aydin (chair), e-mail: c.aydin@utwente.nl or phone: +31-53-4893391, or Prof. dr. Philip Brey (p.a.e.brey@utwente.nl), prof. dr. ir. Peter-Paul Verbeek (p.p.c.c.verbeek@utwente.nl) or prof. dr. ir. Mieke Boon (m.boon@utwente.nl).

Please upload your application via https://www.utwente.nl/en/organisation/careers/!/1202981/five-assistant-professors-in-social-science-and-humanities before June 12, 2020. Your application should include (1) a motivation letter (which states explicitly that you are interested in the position in “Philosophy, ethics and regulation of the digital society in relation to AI”) that states how you meet the selection criteria and also outlining your research and teaching interests, (2) a detailed CV with full publication list, full list of courses taught and if possible a summary of teaching evaluations, and (3) names and contact information of 2 references.

Review of applications will start mid-June 2020 and will continue until the positions are filled. Interviews will be planned July 6 to July 17.