Junior Researcher on Generative AI Use and Computational Social Science

Are you interested in supporting research on the generative AI use-and-trust dynamics, using advanced citizen science and computational methods, and contributing to the societal discussion on the topic? We are looking for a junior researcher to support ongoing work on the topic, including existing and new research on artificial intelligence such as conversational generative AI agents (e.g., ChatGPT), data donation and computational social science.

Generative AI use and Computational Social Science
In this position, you will help manage the day-to-day aspects of ongoing research programmes on (a) Trust in the Digital Society, (b) the development and application of citizen science methods to enable individuals to donate their digital trace data to researchers and (c) launch a new multi-year project investigating how individuals use and calibrate their trust in conversational generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT).

What are you going to do
You will be responsible for:

1. Conducting literature reviews and managing reference software;
2. Conducting pre-registration and analyses of (longitudinal) survey and digital trace (conversational) data;
3. Supporting the development and piloting of citizen science research methods (including data donation), and the analysis of such data;
4. Visualizing data trends for reporting;
5. Collaborating on scientific papers on this topic following the principles of open science;

What do you have to offer
You:

• Research Master’s degree in Communication Science or related field;
• Advanced quantitative skills, particularly comfortable with automated content analysis (including usage of LLMs for research) as well as survey data analysis (including longitudinal panel data);
• Demonstrated experience working with R and/or Python;
• Affinity with the topic of artificial intelligence; and the opportunities and challenges of the digital society; and computational methods;
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal;
• Ability and interest in supporting all aspects of the research process, including but not limited to literature review; data analysis; concept writing; stimuli development; data collection etc.
• Experience with the practice of open science;
• Independent, 'making things work' mentality;
• Excellent command of English; Dutch language skills a plus

If the vacancy appeals to you, but you are doubting whether you might be THE person we are looking for, please do apply. We encourage all qualified applicants, including minorities, women, people with disabilities, and members of other groups underrepresented in academia to apply. We are committed to creating an environment of mutual respect, inclusiveness, equal opportunities with room for situated experiences, diverse perspectives, and ideas to flourish. This commitment applies to our research, organisation, room for flexibility, training, and community activities as well as our hiring strategy.

What we offer you
The position concerns temporary employment for 0.6 FTE. It is available immediately and lasts for a period of one year. There may be a possibility, after the first year, to extend to a second year pending financial circumstances

The UvA offers excellent possibilities for further professional development and education.

What else do we offer

• The opportunity to conduct cutting-edge research in an inspiring academic and international working environment in the heart of Amsterdam
• An enthusiastic and warm team that is open to new colleagues
• A position in which initiative and input are highly valued

In this department you will work
This junior researcher position is part of the Communication, Organizations and Society programme group at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR). This position will work within projects that prof. Araujo co-directs, including the UvA-wide Research Priority Area Trust in the Digital Society as well as the Digital Data Donation Infrastructure Consortium. In addition, the researcher will work with the upcoming project Calibrated Trust, funded by an NWO Vidi grant.

If you recognize yourself in this profile and are interested in the role, we look forward to receiving your application. You can apply via the red button until 25 April 2025.

For questions about the vacancy, you can contact:

• Prof. dr. Theo Araujo, t.b.araujo@uva.nl

Applications in .pdf should include:

• a curriculum vitae;
• a short letter of motivation
• a list of courses followed in your research master’s
• a copy of your research master’s thesis

Please include all materials in one single file (PDF).