The PhD position is placed within the project 'Look Who’s Talking? Towards Engaging Long-Term Interactions with Conversational Agents', funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), within the Open Competition Digitlization (SSH). This 4-year project aims to develop and evaluate digital conversational agents ("chatbots") that are capable of understanding human utterances and can automatically generate appropriate, human-like responses. The main aim of our project is to study the long-term ‘relationships’ between such conversation agents and human users, with the goal of assisting people to engage in a healthier lifestyle (in particular, smoking cessation and safe sex promotion).

'Look Who’s Talking' is a collaboration with key academic expertise on artificial intelligence & communication science (Radboud University), computational linguistics and communication & technology (Tilburg University), and behavioural change and health technology and communication (University of Amsterdam), and with national stakeholders regarding smoking cessation (Trimbos Insitute) and sexual health (Soa Aids Nederland). Three PhDs will be hired on this project, one at each of the participating universities. Although the three PhD candidates will work on related but different subprojects, a close collaboration between the PhD candidates is necessary for successful completion of the project. In collaboration with the project supervisors, the PhD candidates will also work on a paper regarding the ethical implications of the use of conversational agents in health promotion.

The goal of this particular PhD position is to lay the technical foundation for the conversational agents developed in the project, with a focus on computational modelling of a theory of mind (facilitating reasoning about beliefs, desires, intentions and emotions of the human user) and on generating varied, motivational utterances (enabling a more natural and human-like motivational interaction).

More specifically, the PhD candidate at Radboud University is expected to:

• Create technological infrastructure for chatbot development (e.g., using the flow.ai toolkit).
• Develop basic chatbots for the two application domains (smoking cessation & safe sex).
• Develop tools for automatically producing varied motivational output.
• Develop tools for theory of mind and dialogue modelling.
• Conduct a technical evaluation of the developed technology.
• Explore ethical considerations for the developed technology.

Candidates for this position should have a master’s degree in artificial intelligence, computer science, cognitive science, communication science, behavioural science, or a related field. A Research Master’s degree is a plus. In addition, you:

• Have strong computational skills, and an affinity with social AI and/or language technology.
• Have excellent organizational and social skills.
• Are willing to learn and think across disciplines.
• Have good communication skills and are well able to communicate with your fellow peers, the research population, stakeholders, and societal partners.
• Are collaborative and like to work in a team.
• Have excellent English writing and presentation skills.
• Speaking Dutch is a plus.

A description of the project is available upon request.

Fixed-term contract: You will be appointed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years.

• Employment: 32 - 40 hours per week.
• The gross starting salary amounts to €2,325 per month, and will increase to €2,972 in the fourth year (salary scale P).
• In addition to the salary: an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• Duration of the contract: You will be appointed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years.
• The intended start date is 1 June 2020.
• You will be able to make use of our Dual Career Service: our Dual Career Officer will assist with family-related support, such as child care, and help your partner prepare for the local labour market and with finding an occupation.
• Are you interested in our excellent employment conditions?

Radboud University

We want to get the best out of science, others and ourselves. Why? Because this is what the world around us desperately needs. Leading research and education make an indispensable contribution to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. This is what unites the more than 22,000 students and 5,000 employees at Radboud University. And this requires even more talent and collaboration. You have a part to play!

Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen

You will be working in the Communication and Media research programme in the Behavioural Science Institute (BSI) at Radboud University. The C&M programme investigates the production, content, and reception of mediated communication. Our main objective is to study the social and psychological mechanisms underlying uses of media, processes and effects, while taking into account the economical, technological, and social-cultural forces that influence the 21 century media landscape. Moreover, we aim to apply these fundamental insights to develop strategies for improving people’s well-being. A key role is played by recent developments in digital technology: we study innovative techniques and tools such as artificial intelligence, robotics and virtual reality in order to find ways to empower people to thrive in their multiple roles.

The Behavioural Science Institute is part of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Radboud University. It is a multidisciplinary behavioural research institute. Our researchers collaborate across the boundaries of psychology, educational science, and communication science. The BSI has seven research programmes covering three major research themes: 1) development and learning, 2) psychopathology, health and well-being, and 3) social processes and communication. The BSI is globally recognized for its top quality research on human behavior. We conduct fundamental research as well as applied/translational research.

The BSI has state-of-the-art research facilities for observational studies, experiments, eye-tracking studies, EEG and other physiological measures, and behavioural measurements in real and 3D virtual environments. The neuroimaging facilities of the Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (fMRI, MEG and TMS) are available for research on the neural bases of behaviour. Moreover, the BSI is known for its successful graduate school and strong commitment to Open Science. For more information, see our website.