Artificial Intelligence (AI) based solutions are currently being developed and rolled out in organizations and are rapidly changing work. Being crucially different from prior ‘rule based’ expert systems, AI systems bring about novel risks and challenges for organizations and knowledge work. Their autonomous, self- learning capability and the ability to black-box knowledge raises fundamental questions, such as how can developers and users work together to ensure that AI solutions align - and stay aligned - with the use contexts? Yet, current debates on AI and work are primarily framed around its consequences for jobs, without empirically grounded research into both AI’s development and its implications for organizations and professionals. This position is part of a larger NWO project “AI-Know” that aims to gain a deep understanding of how AI systems are developed and implemented; contribute to theories of technology’s role in knowledge, professional and organizational change, and ultimately develop an empirically-grounded methodology for ‘Collaborative AI’ that augments knowledge work.

Your duties
As a postdoc researcher on the AI-Know project, you will collaborate with our NWO-funded PhD researchers, who conduct ethnographic research on the development, implementation and use of AI solutions in organizations. You will reflect and capitalize on findings from ongoing case studies at KIN, to gain a deeper understanding into processes of AI development and implementation, as well as the impact of AI on knowledge work. Based on ongoing insights, you will develop the methodology for ‘Collaborative AI’, thereby ultimately contributing to a human-centric digital society. At the core of the methodology will be the interaction between designers, data scientists, domain experts, and managers. You will publish your findings in top-tier academic journals preferably with a mutli-disciplinary audience and proactively disseminate the methodology that you will develop through education, executive programs, and workshops.

• earned PhD in business administration, (organizational) sociology or related social science discipline
• affinity with data-driven technologies and AI - able to unpack the “black box” of AI             
• expertise in qualitative research methods e.g. ethnography, interviews, and observations
• potential to establish a successful track record of publishing in high quality academic     journals with a multidisciplinary audience
• evidence of successful collaboration with industry partners and active research valorization is an asset
• academic writing skills
• high proficiency of English language; Dutch language proficiency (or willingness to learn) preferred

Fixed-term contract: 18 months.

A challenging position in a socially involved organization. On full-time basis the remuneration amounts to a minimum gross monthly salary of € 3.491,- (scale 10) and a maximum €5.127 (scale 11), depending on your education and experience. The job profile: Onderzoeker 3 or 4 is based on the university job ranking system and is vacant for 1.0 FTE.

The appointment will be for 1,5 year and can be extended with teaching. The starting date is negotiable, but ultimately 1 January 2022.

Additionally, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam offers excellent fringe benefits and various schemes and regulations to promote a good work/life balance, such as:

• a maximum of 41 days of annual leave based on full-time employment,
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus,
• solid pension scheme (ABP),
• contribution to commuting expenses,
• optional model for designing a personalized benefits package

The ambition of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is clear: to contribute to a better world through outstanding education and ground-breaking research. We strive to be a university where personal development and commitment to society play a leading role. A university where people from different disciplines and backgrounds collaborate to achieve innovations and to generate new knowledge. Our teaching and research encompass the entire spectrum of academic endeavor – from the humanities, the social sciences and the natural sciences through to the life sciences and the medical sciences.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is home to more than 26,000 students. We employ over 4,600 individuals. The VU campus is easily accessible and located in the heart of Amsterdam’s Zuidas district, a truly inspiring environment for teaching and research.

Diversity
We are an inclusive university community. Diversity is one of our most important values. We believe that engaging in international activities and welcoming students and staff from a wide variety of backgrounds enhances the quality of our education and research. We are always looking for people who can enrich our world with their own unique perspectives and experiences.

School of Business and Economics
The School of Business and Economics (SBE) provides high-quality education and excellent research in business administration and economics with a focus on contributing to the social, economic and ecological challenges of our time. Whether it is the use of robots in society or big data, labour market participation or flexibility in the labour market, traffic jams or the housing market, flash crashes in the stock market or choice behaviour in gambling, leadership or change management: we believe in goal-oriented scientific research and understand that progress in academics, the business community and society is achieved through cooperation, openness and social responsibility.

At SBE, all of our highly-motivated colleagues work together closely in a stimulating, dynamic and international environment to achieve our collective goal of encouraging society to make informed choices. Approximately 4,200 Bachelor’s and Master’s students and 1,700 executive students are enrolled at the School, and employs roughly 500 people.
 
About KIN Center for Digital Innovation
The KIN Center for Digital Innovation (www.sbe.vu.nl/kin) is a multi-disciplinary research institute on digital innovation and is part of the School of Business and Economics of the VU University of Amsterdam. We are an international group of 40 researchers studying the ways in which the use and development of digital innovations affect the way we work and organize. The group is very well connected to both the academic and private and public organizations. On top of delivering top quality teaching and research, the KIN Center for Digital Innovation is creating a platform for collaboration with private and public organizations, offering various forms of executive education, research collaboration and knowledge sharing sessions for business partners