Would you like to become part of a dynamic community that is at the forefront of critical interdisciplinary research in Artificial Intelligence, Digital Culture and Deep Learning?

The European Research Council-funded Advanced Grant ‘Deep Culture - Living with Difference in the Age of Deep Learning’ invites applications for three PhD positions. Collaborating with two other PhD students and two PostDocs, the aim is to realise an ambitious interdisciplinary research agenda on deep learning and culture. The project involves experts from the Institute for Logic, Language, and Computation (ILLC), the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (ASCA), and the Amsterdam School for Heritage, Memory, and Material Culture (AHM). Your research will be part of the AI in Culture and Society group of the ILLC and the Critical Data and AI group at Media Studies.

We are looking for three talented, ambitious PhD candidates who can combine independent research with team collaboration. You will have the opportunity to explore exciting questions of contemporary digital culture and deep learning and contribute to shaping debates about our relations with AI technologies.

What are you going to do?
The three PhD students will be part of a 5-year European Research Council Advanced grant: ‘Deep Culture - Living with Difference in the Age of Deep Learning’. The project investigates the relations between deep learning and global cultural production and consumption. Deep learning technologies like ChatGPT have generated a lot of excitement about our new relations with AI but have also provoked much public anxiety. The project coins ‘deep culture’ to describe the global transformations that deep learning has brought on culture, and how culture is in turn key to deep learning. The project will first explore the relations between deep learning and historical-cultural concepts and practices. Secondly, it will work with deep-learning methods to address their limitations for critical analysis. Finally, it aims to foster public understanding of deep learning’s global relations to culture.

DEEP CULTURE will focus on three archival sites of digital culture. These transnational, interdisciplinary sites have always been key for (digital) humanities research but have also become sites of data extraction in deep learning, surfacing controversies about the relationship of deep learning and culture. The first site concerns historical archives and especially Holocaust archives. This field brings together very large data, both textual and multimedia, but has also been targeted very early on by online misrepresentations and Holocaust denial in language and image models. The second archival site relates to real-time web-based archives, which are known to power modern deep learning through ‘cheap data’, but generally without any consideration of cultural context. These practices have been at the forefront of the critique of AI applications as reproducing racial and gender biases. The third archival site consists of more hidden, ‘incidental’ archives. Found in repositories around the world, they promise new grassroots cultural-historical research but are also controversial. For instance, a recent investigation by the Groene Amsterdammer found that chatbots are trained in the Dutch language by using data from conspiracy-theory sites.

Each PhD student will be primarily allocated to one of these sites but work together with the other PhDs and PostDocs on the other sites. The project also involves extensive conceptual investigations and methodological experiments in the critical study of AI. We envisage that the three PhDs will have a range of diverse skills that complement each other: from those with already existing technical knowledge in AI and digital humanities to researchers with a background in qualitative methods, cultural analysis, software studies and science and technology studies. We expect, however, that you would be willing to critically engage with interdisciplinary approaches and methodologies, learn from each other and be willing to add new skills and practices to your existing interests. The project wants to avoid hierarchies and specialisations as far as possible.

Your tasks and responsibilities
You are expected:

• to conduct research drawing on approaches from deep learning, digital humanities, critical AI and data studies, science and technology studies;
• to publish and present research results in leading international conferences and journals;
• to complete a PhD thesis to be submitted within the period of appointment;
• to participate in project meetings and relevant networks;
• to participate in knowledge dissemination activities with academic and other stakeholders;
• to contribute to our teaching activities as assistant to courses and/or guiding students in their thesis work
• to contribute to the organisational and administrative work on the project.

What do you have to offer?
We seek ambitious PhD candidates to work on a dynamic area of research, where new opportunities are expected to arise during the project.

Your experience and profile:
Candidates with cross-disciplinary or interdisciplinary backgrounds (or interest in developing their skills) are especially encouraged to apply. Demonstrable interest in and experience of work on artificial intelligence and/or cultural-historical analysis are expected.

We are looking for a candidate with:

• a completed master's degree in artificial intelligence, digital humanities, cultural-historical analysis, or science and technology studies and related areas;
• a demonstrable interest in socio-technical research, and affinity with AI;
• a strong academic performance in university-level courses in the relevant subjects (see below), and excellent research skills demonstrated by an outstanding master's thesis;
• a strong cooperative attitude and interest in working collaboratively with other researchers and external stakeholders;
• a professional command of English and good presentation skills.
• experience with administrative and organisational skills.

Please note that if you already hold a doctorate/PhD or are working towards obtaining a similar degree elsewhere, you will not be admitted to a doctoral programme at the UvA.

What can we offer you?
We offer a temporary employment contract for the period of 48 months. The first contract will be for 16 months, with an extension for the following 32 months, dependent on a positive performance evaluation within the first 12 months. The employment contract is for 38 hours a week. The preferred starting date is as soon as possible but ideally no later than 1 February 2025.

Your salary is in the first year of the employment contract € 2,872 and in the last year a maximum of € 3,670 gross per month on the basis of a full working week of 38 hours. This sum does not include the 8% holiday allowance and the 8,3% year-end allowance. A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

What else do we offer?
Apart from your salary and employee status (no tuition fees) and an inspiring research environment, we offer you many fringe benefits:

• 232 holiday hours per year (based on full time);
• up to a maximum of 16 weeks fully paid pregnancy (including maternity leave);
• the possibility for birth leave (partner leave) and partially paid parental leave;
• a pension with ABP pension fund for which the UvA pays two third part of the contribution;
• multiple courses to follow from our Teaching and Learning Centre;
• a complete educational program for PhD students, including those offered by the Dutch National Research Schools;
• a wide range of online courses to follow on topics such as time management, handling stress on the online platform Goodhabitz;
• the possibility to set up a fully equipped workplace at home;
• the possibility to follow courses to learn Dutch;
• Assistance with housing for a studio or small apartment when you’re moving from abroad.

About us
The University of Amsterdam is the Netherlands' largest university, offering the widest range of academic programmes. At the UvA, 42,000 students, 6,000 staff members and 3,000 PhD candidates study and work in a diverse range of fields, connected by a culture of curiosity.

The Faculty of Humanities provides education and conducts research with a strong international profile in a large number of disciplines in the field of language and culture. Located in the heart of Amsterdam, the faculty maintains close ties with many cultural institutes in the capital city. Research and teaching staff focus on interdisciplinary collaboration and are active in several teaching programmes.

The Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) is a research institute at the UvA in which researchers from the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Humanities collaborate. Its central research area is the study of fundamental principles of encoding, transmission, and comprehension of information. Research at ILLC is interdisciplinary and aims at bringing together insights from various disciplines concerned with information and information processing, such as logic, mathematics, computer science, linguistics, natural language processing, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, music cognition, and philosophy.

Located at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Amsterdam, the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (ASCA) is a research community devoted to the comparative and interdisciplinary study of culture (in all its forms and expressions) from a broad perspective. Specialists in their own respective fields, ASCA members share a commitment to working within an interdisciplinary framework and to maintaining a close connection with contemporary cultural and political debates. Within ASCA, they collaborate to provide an innovative and stimulating research environment for scholars, professionals, and graduate students from the Netherlands and abroad.

The Amsterdam School for Heritage, Memory and Material Culture (AHM) is a research institute and doctoral school at the UvA’s Faculty of Humanities, committed to the analysis of the remnants and narratives of the past in the present, as well as of the remaking of pasts into heritage, memory and material culture. Research at AHM seeks to integrate all branches of research focusing on the material and intangible remains of the past, the reciprocal relations between objects and meanings, and the dynamics of memory, from diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives, concept-oriented, object-oriented, and user-oriented approaches.

Want to know more about our organisation? Read more about working at the University of Amsterdam.

Questions?
Do you have any questions or do you require additional information? Please contact:

• Prof.dr. Tobias Blanke (t.blanke@uva.nl)

Job application
If you feel the profile fits you, and you are interested in the job, we look forward to receiving your application. You can apply online via the link below. The deadline for applying for this vacancy is 27 October 2024.

Applications should include the following information (submitted in one .pdf by uploading in the required field ‘CV’):

• A detailed letter of motivation of 1-2 pages, what you bring to the project, explaining which archival site or sites interest you and how you could contribute to the overall project. Furthermore, we like to hear from you why you are interested in that position and how your background and experience fit the project.
• A detailed CV including the months (not just years) when referring to your education and work experience.
• A list of all university courses you have taken, with an official transcript of grades.
• A list of publications (in case of joint authorship, clearly indicate your own contribution) and/or a link to at least one writing example available online (e.g., your master’s thesis in a university repository, or a direct link).
• The names, affiliations, and email addresses of two referees, including your advisor, who may be approached by the selection committee (please do not include reference letters in your application).

Only complete applications received within the response period via the link below will be considered.

The interviews will be held at the beginning of November.

The UvA is an equal-opportunity employer. We prioritise diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for everyone. We value a spirit of enquiry and perseverance, provide the space to keep asking questions, and promote a culture of curiosity and creativity.

No agencies please.