In recent years, very powerful techniques have emerged for analysing human speech and texts, as well as video images with humans in them. The combination of big data and artificial intelligence makes it possible to recognize humans in private and public spaces, analyse their behaviour, make inferences about their personality, emotions, intentions, and other psychological traits, and track them. The objective of this position is to analyse the ethical implications of advanced natural language, speech and video analytics and machine learning techniques and their application to the processing and analysis of personal data and to personalization applications. It is also possible to focus on just one of the areas (text/speech or video/images). This is an exciting new area in which little ethical analysis has been done so far. The candidate will perform an analysis of key ethical issues relating to these techniques, involving several case studies, and will also study implications for organizational policies and public policy. 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 prof. dr. Philip Brey, full professor in philosophy and ethics of technology at the University of Twente. This position includes two (supported) two-months secondments (i.e., periods during which you will work from another institution): the first at Trinity College Dublin with prof. dr. Linda Hogan, professor in 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 organisations.

Profile
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
• For position 1, 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: http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/wp/2018-2020/ma...

Eligibility Criteria
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

Our offer
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% (on top of the starting salary);
• A solid pension scheme;
• Minimum of 29 holidays in case of full-time employment;
• Professional and personal development programs
• A program of graduate courses taught by an international staff, including members of the 4TU.Centre for Ethics and Technology

The preferred starting date is September 1st, 2019.

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

You should upload your application(s) after May 7 via www.utwente.nl/vacatures/en > vacancies > current vacancies. The application deadline is Saturday 25 May, 2019, 23:59 CET. We will hold interviews on June 3rd and 4h; Skype interviews are an option. You should feel free to apply to more than one position; in that case, please upload separate cover letters for each position.