Why build AI systems that replace people if we can build AI systems that collaborate with people? Hybrid Intelligence is the combination of human and machine intelligence, expanding human intellect instead of replacing it. Our goal is to design Hybrid Intelligent systems, an approach to Artificial Intelligence that puts humans at the centre, changing the course of the ongoing AI revolution.

We are looking for a PhD student to design Hybrid Intelligent systems based on principles from (visual) attention, geometry, and probabilistic modeling. The aim of this project is to model, study, and visualize decision-making processes in (convolutional) neural networks. In particular, emphasis is put on explainability in critical applications where reliability and trustworthiness of AI systems are crucial, such as in the medical domain.

A main theme will be the design of AI system through recurrent NNs by which focus is put on modeling (and visualization of) the dynamics of decision making rather than relying on the static black box mechanics of feed-forward networks. E.g. when tracing a blood vessel in medical image data, one does not need to be able to represent or remember the vessel as a whole (feedforward mechanism), but it is more important to learn how to connect local line segments (the dynamics of reasoning). Similarly, in image classification problems, it is important to learn how local cues relate to each other and learn how to “connect the dots” rather than trying to come to a decision given all information at once. Being able to capture/model such dynamics of reasoning opens doors for interaction with and visualization of the systems, which leads to explainability. Your research will be built upon an exciting mix of geometric (equivariance, invertibility, PDE’s) and probabilistic (VAE, normalizing flows) principles to ensure reliability and interpretability of AI systems.

This position is sponsored by the Hybrid Intelligence Centre, a collaboration of AI researchers from across the Netherlands. The position is also affiliated with the Amsterdam Machine Learning Lab at UvA and the Computational Intelligence Group at the VU Amsterdam.

The Hybrid Intelligence Centre will be recruiting 27 PhD or postdoc positions in total. If you also want to be considered for one of the Hybrid Intelligence Centre’s other PhD positions, then upload your documents to the HIC Talentpool. Your information will then be shared among the researchers in the consortium.

What are you going to do?

You are expected to:

• invent, evaluate, and describe new methodologies that address explainability in AI via geometric and probabilistic approaches;
• apply these methods in impactful domains such as healthcare and medical imaging;
• present research results at international conferences, workshops, and journals;
• become an active member of the research community and collaborate with other researchers, both within and outside Hybrid Intelligence Centre;
• pursue, complete, and defend a PhD thesis within the appointed duration of four years;
• assist in teaching activities, such as teaching labs and tutorials or supervising bachelor and master students.

What do we require?

• A Master’s degree (or close to obtaining one) in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, or a closely related field;
• a strong scientific and mathematical background in machine learning, deep learning, medical image analysis or computer vision;
• enthusiasm for the scientific process: formulating and conducting experiments, data collection and analysis, disseminating findings via writing and oral presentations;
• good programming skills, experience with Python and deep learning toolkits is preferred;
• the ability to work well in teams and communicate fluently in written and spoken English.

Our offer

A temporary contract for 38 hours per week for the duration of 4 years (the initial appointment will be for a period of 18 months and after satisfactory evaluation it will be extended for a total duration of 4 years) and should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). We will draft an educational plan that includes attendance of courses and (international) meetings. We also expect you to assist in teaching undergraduates and master students. 

The salary, depending on relevant experience before the beginning of the employment contract, will be €2,395 to €3,061 (scale P) gross per month, based on a full-time contract (38 hours a week). These amounts are exclusive 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus. A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

Are you curious about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits like our excellent opportunities for study and development? Take a look here.

University of Amsterdam

With over 5,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

Faculty of Science - Informatics Institute

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 7,000, as well as 1,600 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain, or machines that display intelligent behaviour.

The mission of the Informatics Institute is to perform curiosity-driven and use-inspired fundamental research in Computer Science. The main research themes are Artificial Intelligence, Computational Science and Systems and Network Engineering. Our research involves complex information systems at large, with a focus on collaborative, data driven, computational and intelligent systems, all with a strong interactive component.