PhD researcher on the societal impact of generative AI

1 - Working at the VUB

For more than 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and solidarity, and this is very much alive on our campuses among students and staff alike. 

At the VUB, you will find a diverse collection of personalities: innovators pur sang, but above all people who are 100% their authentic selves. With some 4,000 employees, we are the largest Dutch-speaking employer, in the private sector, in Brussels; an international city with which we are only too happy to connect and where (around) our 4 campuses are located. 

Add to this our principle of free research - in which self-reflection, a critical attitude and an open, creative mind around scientific and social issues are central - and you have a university that is fundamentally groundbreaking and pioneering in education and research. In short: the VUB all over again. 

Moreover, the VUB is a member of EUTOPIA, an alliance of like-minded European universities, all ready to reinvent themselves.

2 - Position description

The Brussels School of Governance, Department Instituut voor Europese Studies, is looking for a PhD-student with a doctoral grant. 

More concretely your work package, for the preparation of a doctorate, contains: 

The Centre for Digitalisation, Democracy and Innovation (CD2I) at the Brussels School of Governance, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), and the HUMAINT project of the Algorithmic Transparency Unit, Joint Research Centre (JRC) site in Sevilla, European Commission, are calling for applications for one full-time doctoral researcher on the topic of trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI), with a focus on the societal impact of generative AI on information trust. 

As a PhD researcher, you will develop a research project on the societal impact of recent developments in generative AI (e.g. large language models, AI-generated audio, image and videos), in particular with regards to the spread of inauthentic content in a context of information distrust and disorder.

We view disinformation as a manifestation of distrust and disorder in democracy, and analyse this topic from multiple complementary angles. This particular project would consider how generative AI tools are abused to generate illegal and harmful content, how disinformation interacts with political trust and regulation of AI providers and what the potential and pitfalls of AI in this context are. Research topics of interest could include but are not limited to: transparency measures to identify machine-generated content, generative AI and minor protection, generative AI and gender-based violence, the impact of generative AI on public-domain knowledge/digital commons.

We particularly invite empirical research that connects quantitative methods from data science (natural language processing, web scraping, (social) media analysis) with interpretative practices from the (digital) humanities.

For this function, our Brussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus (Elsene) will serve as your home base. 

3 - Profile

What do we expect from you?

• You hold a Master’s degree in the domain of digital humanities, computational linguistics, media and communication studies, or other relevant fields in human, social or engineering sciences with excellent study results.

• You have a good knowledge of and hands-on experience with computational methods for text analysis, in particular with applications to corpora scraped from social media;
• You have excellent academic writing skills;
• You know and understand the relevant academic literature;
• You are flexible, self-motivated and perseverant;
• You are able to work independently, with good self-management and planning skills;
• You are fluent and have excellent communications skills in English. Knowledge of additional languages is an asset;
• Having an interdisciplinary profile that combines a background in the humanities or social sciences with computer science or related fields is a plus;
• You have knowledge and/or interest in science for policy, with a focus on the EU AI Act and the EU Digital Services Act.

• You have not performed any works in the execution of a mandate as an assistant, paid from operating resources, over a total (cumulated) period of more than 12 months.

The VUB wants to be a reflection of the society where everyone's talent is valued, regardless of gender, age, religion, skin color, migration background, disability and neurodiversity.

4 - Offer

Are you going to be our new colleague?

You’ll be offered a full-time PhD-scholarship, for 12 months (extendable up to max. 48 months, on condition of the positive evaluation of the PhD activities), with planned starting date 01/04/2025. 

You’ll receive a grant linked to one of the scales set by the government.

IMPORTANT: The effective result of the doctorate scholarship is subject to the condition precedent of your enrolment as a doctorate student at the university.

You will have two agreements (and work places) through your doctoral project, one with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (year 1 and 2) and one with VUB (year 3 and 4). While at JRC, you will continue to be enrolled as PhD student at VUB and offered a Grantholder contract for the time spent at the JRC.

You will spend part of your PhD at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is the European Commission's science and knowledge service which employs scientists to carry out research in order to provide independent scientific advice and support to EU policy. You will join the HUMAINT team, Algorithmic Transparency Unit, and will be located at the JRC site in Sevilla, Spain.

At the VUB, you’re guaranteed an open, involved and diverse workplace where you are offered opportunities to (further) build on your career.

As well as this, you will also enjoy various other benefits:

• Extensive homeworking options, a telework allowance of 50 euros per month OR an internet fee of 20 euros per month;
• An open and informal working environment where attention is paid to work-life balance, and exceptional holiday arrangements with 35 days of leave (based on a fulltime contract), closure between Christmas and New Year and 3 extra leave days;
• Cost-free hospitalisation insurance;
• Full reimbursement of your home-to-work commute with public transport according to VUB-policy, and/or compensation if you come by bike; 
• A wide selection of meals in our campus restaurants at attractive prices;
• Excellent and affordable facilities for sport and exercise, a range of discounts via Benefits@Work (in  all kinds of shops, on flights, in petrol stations, amusement parks...) and Ecocheques; 
• Nursery near campus, discount on holiday camps; 
• The space to form your job content and to continuously learn through our VUB learning platforms and training courses;
• And finally: great colleagues with a healthy drive.

5 - Interested?

Is this the job you’ve been dreaming of?

Then apply, at the latest on 20/01/2025, via jobs.vub.be, and upload the following documents:

• one-page motivation letter explaining your interest in pursuing a PhD on the research topic;
• curriculum vitae listing all academic qualifications, relevant research experience and previous publications (if any);
• a project proposal featuring a literature review, a research question and proposed hypotheses/assumptions, a methodological outline and an indicative work plan, condensed into no more than 3,000 words;
• a copy of publication (master thesis, academic report or paper of a university class);
• the names and contact details of two referees. Referees are requested to send their letters of recommendation directly to jobs_bsog@vub.be by 20 January 2025.
• your diploma (not applicable for VUB alumni).

Do you have questions about the job content? Contact Laura De Decker at jobs_bsog@vub.be or on +32 2 614 80 01.

Would you like to know what it’s like to work at the VUB? Go to jobs.vub.be, and find all there is to know about our campuses, benefits, strategic goals and your future colleagues.

Would you like more information about EUTOPIA? Go to eutopia-university.eu, and read more about the role of the VUB in the development of the EUTOPIA alliance.