Department : Social Sciences Institute
Vacancy ID : 018961
Closing Date : 08-Jan-2023

The Role  

Maynooth University is committed to a strategy in which the primary University goals of excellent research and scholarship and outstanding education are interlinked and equally valued.   We are recruiting a Postdoctoral researcher with a background in the social sciences to work on AI Governance, Trust and Responsibility with Prof. Aphra Kerr of MUSSI at Maynooth University.  

AI policies are proliferating in Europe and a range of multi-stakeholder initiatives are currently shaping a shared set of ethical principles, values and limitations on use. These policies and principles aim to guide the development and application of AI based applications and services. But how do these policies translate into practice in diverse organisations and contexts. How can we trust AI systems and those organisations and people who deploy them? These questions motivate this research position.

This postdoc will focus on approaches, methods and tools for evaluating the social impacts of AI in particular contexts and help to develop strategies to support transparency and responsibility.  

The postdoc will conduct original research that contributes to at least two of the following streams of work

1. conduct case studies to examine the efficacy of AI policies and frameworks in practice in particular organisations and/or on platforms,
2. audit the social impacts of an AI system in a particular domain
3. develop strategies, tools and events to support public trust, transparency and responsibility around the application of AI systems.

The primary focus of the role is on conducting excellent research and on disseminating this research through academic journal articles, international conferences, and public engagement activities. There will be opportunities to develop new research projects in collaboration with other researchers and/or external parties.  

This postdoc will contribute to the research agenda of the Transparent Digital Governance (TDG) research team within the Science Foundation Ireland funded ADAPT research centre. TDG is one of three strands of research within the ADAPT research centre whose goal is to develop trustworthy and human Centric AI informed by ethical principles, fundamental rights and social values. The centre includes graduate and postgraduate researchers from across 8 Irish universities in computer science, HCI, design, social science, philosophy and law. The centre is funded by the Irish government through Science Foundation Ireland.  

The postdoc will be located with other postgraduate researchers and staff working on externally funded research projects in the Maynooth University Social Sciences Institute (MUSSI) at Maynooth University in Ireland.  

Post-Doctoral Researcher (2022):     €41,209 to €47,477 p.a. (6 Points)

Senior Post-Doctoral Researcher (2022): €48,813 to €50,189 p.a.(1 point with increment)  

Appointments will be made in accordance with public sector pay provisions.

Closing Date:   23:30hrs (local Irish time) on Sunday, 8th January, 2022.

Please note all applications must be made via our

Online Recruitment Portal at the following link: https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/human-resources/vacancies  

Applications must be submitted by the closing date and time specified above. Any applications which are still in progress at the closing time on the specified closing date will be cancelled automatically by the system. Late applications will not be accepted.  

Maynooth University is an equal opportunities employer  

The position is subject to the Statutes of the University