The Department of Philosophy of the University Twente in the Netherlands is looking for a PhD Position in Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data (PROTECT-Network)

We invite you to apply for a PhD position as part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network ‘PROTECT - Protecting Personal Data Amidst Big Data Innovation’, funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme. Two other positions of this type are offered by the University of Twente: https://www.utwente.nl/en/organization/career.
Ethics of personal data from online mobile, wearable and social media for e-health and lifestyle applications.
Online mobile applications and wearables collect sensitive physical and behavioral data of their users that can be used in e-health and lifestyle applications. When linked with social media data, machine learning can reveal surprising insights about individuals and their circle of friends, family and neighbors. The objective of this position is to develop a systematic ethical analysis of issues associated with personal data collected from online mobile, social media and wearables for e-health and lifestyle applications. To do this, you will rely on philosophical analysis, and potentially other methods, to investigate ethically relevant impacts of new personalization, data collection, and personal data analytics technologies. In addition, the position has two stimulating and timely practical aims. The first is to find out whether the use of innovative foresight methods, as part of the technology assessment of e-health and lifestyle applications, can improve our anticipation of their future developments and ethical impacts. The second is to make recommendations for the ethical design of relevant technologies and accompanying policies. Within this position you will have significant freedom in making the topic your own and selecting your own research questions, theories, and methods. We encourage innovation.
Your principal supervisor for this position will be dr. Yashar Saghai, assistant professor in philosophy and ethics of technology at the University of Twente. Prof. dr. Philip Brey will also supervise you. This position includes two two-months secondments (i.e., periods during which you will work from another institution): the first at Dublin City University with prof. Bert Gordijn, director of the Institute of Ethics; the second at the Rathenau Institute in The Hague with prof. Barend van der Meulen, Head of Research. There will also be opportunities for secondments and shorter stays at leading tech companies and policy organizations. Depending on your level of experience, we may require you to take some courses taught in the MSc in Philosophy of Science, Technology and Society.

You have a Master’s degree in ethics, philosophy, or a related discipline. In addition, you:

• have good philosophical and analytical skills
• have an interest in practical applications of ethics
• are familiar with, or are interested in, ethical and philosophical aspects of the computer and information sciences, in particular artificial intelligence and big data
• have good English language skills, both in writing and speaking
• have good social and communication skills in academic as well as non-academic contexts
• appreciate multidisciplinary collaboration
• are able to work independently, but also motivated to collaborate with others, including project participants and partners from different countries and with diverse backgrounds
• familiarity with foresight methods or bioethics is desirable

The PROTECT consortium and project
PROTECT is an international, interdisciplinary and cross academic-industry training network hosted across Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Belgium. It is recruiting 14 Early Stage Researchers (ESR) to undertake research towards PhDs in the disciplines of law, ethics or computer science, with the common goal of Protecting Personal Data Amidst Big Data Innovation. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) grant agreement No. 813497. More information here: ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/wp/2018-2020/main/h2020-wp1820-msca_en.pdf

All researchers recruited must be Early-Stage Researchers (ESR). Early-Stage researchers are those who, at the time of recruitment by the host are in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and have not been awarded a doctoral degree. This is measured from the date when they obtain the degree that formally entitles them to embark on a doctorate (either in the country in which the degree was obtained or in the country in which the researcher is recruited, even if a doctorate was never started or envisaged).

Conditions of Mobility of Researchers
Researchers are required to undertake physical, transnational mobility (i.e. move from one country to another) when taking up their appointment. Researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of their host organizations for more than 12 months in the 3 years prior to their recruitment. Short stays, such as holidays, are not taken into account. Note that the mobility rule applies to the (first) beneficiary where the researcher is recruited, and not to beneficiaries to which the researcher is sent or seconded.
Because of the mobility conditions, potential applicants who have carried out their main activity in the Netherlands since June 2016 are not eligible for the University of Twente positions but can apply to related positions offered by the PROTECT Network at Dublin City University.

Researchers at Risk
The following aspects are in place to ensure access to researchers at risk and those with refugee status:

• Application submission by post where online application requirements may discriminate against the researcher’s circumstances (please contact the project manager)
• Application of the eligibility criteria appropriately to ensure researchers who have suspended their activities whilst seeking refugee status are not disadvantaged

Job application
Your application should include the following information and documents:

• Full name
• Nationality
• Contact detail
• Summary of activities in the three years prior to May 2019
• Summary of education
• List of max 3 examples of work demonstrating prior achievement in research, enquiry or debate, e.g., published paper or other work; software, standards or policy contribution; dissertation or Master’s thesis
• A writing sample (for example, a copy of your Master’s thesis)
• A summary and table of contents of your Master’s thesis (if applicable)
• A cover letter which explains your interest in the position and your qualifications for it
• A curriculum vitae which includes the name and e-mail address/telephone number for at least two references.
  

The application deadline is 29 May, 2019, 23:59 CET. We will hold interviews on June 3rd and 4h; Skype interviews are an option. Since only three documents can be uploaded per application, please combine documents if needed. You should feel free to apply to more than one position; in that case, please upload separate cover letters for each position

Further information

• Location: These positions are based at the Department of Philosophy, University of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands.
• Contact information: Dr. Yashar Saghai: y.saghai@utwente.nl (+31 (0)53 489 5727).
  

We offer a very challenging fulltime position for four years in an inspiring multidisciplinary and international environment. The university offers a dynamic ecosystem with enthusiastic colleagues in which internationalization is an important part of the strategic agenda.

• A starting salary of € 2.325 in the first year and a salary of € 2.972 in the fourth year gross per month;
• A holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary and a year-end bonus of 8.3%;
• A solid pension scheme;
• Minimum of 29 holidays in case of full-time employment;
• Professional and personal development programs.

The University of Twente. We stand for life sciences and technology. High tech and human touch. Education and research that matter. New technology which leads change, innovation and progress in society. The University of Twente is the only campus university of the Netherlands; divided over five faculties we provide more than fifty educational programmes. We have a strong focus on personal development and talented researchers are given scope for carrying out groundbreaking research.


We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status. Because of our diversity values we do particularly support women to apply.


Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social sciences The Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social sciences (BMS) strives to play a pivotal role in understanding, co-engineering and evaluating innovation in society. Innovation is driven by advances in technology. Through 'social engineering' these technological advances are embedded in society befitting human needs and behaviour, within proper public and private management and business structures. For this the faculty of BMS upholds high quality disciplinary knowledge in psychology, business administration, public administration, communication science, philosophy, educational science and health sciences. All with a focus on the challenges in society. Research is strongly connected to our institutes: Mesa+ Institute, TechMed Centra and Digital Society Institute.