PhD position LLM Informed Discourse Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility

Have you ever questioned the authenticity behind corporate sustainability messages?
Are you committed to shaping a sustainable future by discerning truth from fiction in corporate communication?

In a world demanding corporate responsibility and sustainability, organisations need to show their commitment through a wide range of communication channels from CSR reports to social media interactions. These channels are often used by businesses to shape their image and reputation, to influence public opinion and policy, and to justify or conceal their questionable practices. Indeed, how many of these messages genuinely convey sustainable actions?

This project aims to develop ways to automatically analyse these communication channels and highlight problematic corporate social communication practices. This will be done by employing Large Language Models (LLMs). This research project aims to (i) expose the crucial role of language in genuine and misleading sustainability communication, (ii) develop and test LLM-informed discourse analytical methods and (iii) contribute to the growing knowledge about inherent biases in LLMs and how these may affect data analysis.

If you are interested in the newest developments in AI and large language models, if you are passionate about language and communication, in this research project you can combine your two interests. You will join passionate and engaged researchers at the Centre for Language and Cognition but also be closely affiliated with one of the University’s new interdisciplinary schools that are at the forefront of solving society’s most pressing issues. You will work on this project under the supervision of Dr. Erika Darics and Dr. Rik van Noord, with Prof. Malvina Nissim as the professor of record.

Please see this PDF (https://www.rikvannoord.nl/pdf/csr_llm_phd.pdf) for a detailed summary of the project proposal.

Organization
Since its foundation in 1614, the University of Groningen has established an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative university offering high-quality teaching and research. Its 34,000 students are encouraged to develop their own individual talents through challenging study- and career paths. The University of Groningen is an international center of knowledge: It belongs to the best research universities in Europe and is allied with prestigious partner universities and networks worldwide.

The Faculty of Arts – which includes the Center for Language and Cognition (CLCG) – is located in the historic heart of the city of Groningen. You will be enrolled in the Graduate School for the Humanities, affiliated with the CLCG. CLCG engages in multidisciplinary linguistic, neuropsychological, and computational research on language and communication. You will have the opportunity to join one of the National Research Schools, which offer training and funding opportunities for PhD students in the Netherlands.

For this position you are expected to:
- have a (Research) Master's degree in either Information Science, Artificial Intelligence, Communication, Linguistics, Discourse analysis, Business and Management, Digital Humanities or a related discipline
- be eager to learn to work across disciplinary boundaries
- have some experience programming in Python or a related programming language
- have some experience with automatic text processing
- have a deep interest in how language works in society
- have good academic English writing skills
- be enthusiastic about writing international publications and a dissertation.

The following would be assets for prospective candidates:
- experience with using state-of-the-art Natural Language Processing and/or Machine Learning tools, in particular Large Language Models
- familiarity with the context of corporate social responsibility
- familiarity with different theories and methods of discourse analysis.

Knowledge of Dutch is NOT required.

In accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, we offer:

- a salary of € 2,770 gross per month in the first year, up to a maximum of € 3,539 gross per month in the final year, based on a full-time position
- a holiday allowance of 8% gross annual income
- an 8.3% end-of-the-year allowance
- a temporary 1.0 FTE appointment for a specified period of four years. The candidate will first be appointed for twelve months. After six months, an assessment will take place of the candidate’s results and the progress of the PhD project, in order to decide whether employment will be continued
- excellent work-life balance
- the PhD candidate is expected to conduct a total of 0.4 fte teaching during the second, third and fourth year of their appointment
- willingness to move and reside in the Netherlands.

For more detailed information about working conditions and working for the University of Groningen, please check: https://www.rug.nl/about-us/work-with-us/

The appointment will commence in April / May 2024 at the very latest. We allow 3 months from selection in case of VISA applications.