The Center for Humans and Machines (CHM) at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin conducts interdisciplinary science to understand, anticipate, and shape major disruptions from digital media and Artificial Intelligence to the way we think, learn, work, play, cooperate, and govern. Our goal is to understand how machines are shaping human society today and how they may continue to shape it in the future. The Center is comprised of an interdisciplinary, international, and diverse group of scholars and a science support team.
To complement this team, we are looking to fill up to two (4)
Ph.D. positions on generative AI in a human-machine society
(E 13 TVöD; 39 hours/week)
Under the supervision of Prof. Iyad Rahwan, your research focus may align with at least one of the following areas:
Cultural Evolution
This research area entails the exploration of innovation, creativity, and cultural evolution within a human-machine society consisting of both humans and AI. Your responsibilities include the design and implementation of generative AI systems, with the aim of investigating phenomena such as human-AI social learning and the emergence of novel concepts.
Strategic Dynamics
This research area investigates the impact of AI on the dynamics of strategic interactions within a human-machine society. Your duties will include the fine-tuning of large language models for participation in strategic games with human counterparts. The objective is to yield insights into unresolved questions concerning algorithmic governance and the manifestation of human-machine behavior.
The Position
-
We seek to hire predoctoral researchers to work on ambitious, high-impact research anticipating the societal impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
- Projects will be conducted under the supervision of Prof. Iyad Rahwan and may involve collaboration with a team of interdisciplinary colleagues at the Center.
- The predoctoral fellow(s) will collaborate with and support senior researchers in ongoing projects conducting empirical studies, analyzing data, and publishing research findings in leading scientific journals while developing their Ph.D. projects in line with the Center’s research themes and methods.
- The research will involve building generative AI models which interact with humans in large-scale online experiments.
- The position will include generous support for computational equipment and computing (e.g., GPU cluster), recruitment of sizable online participant cohorts, travel to conferences and collaborators, and funds for hiring freelance designers and developers to produce bespoke online experiments.
- The position is limited to three years.
- Starting date is October 1, 2023, or later.
Your Profile
The successful applicant must have the following:
- Applicants must hold, or expect to hold by the starting date, a Master's degree in a computational science field (e.g., Computational Social Science, Computer Science, Cognitive Science, Physics, Applied Mathematics, or related).
- Demonstrated ability to produce high-quality research, evidenced by a publication record or software development projects.
- Strong technical skills in applying Artificial Intelligence, especially Deep Learning, to Natural Language Processing, Computer Vision, or Reinforcement Learning.
- Advanced programming skills and proficiency with the deep learning ecosystem (e.g., pytorch, jax, and Hugging Face).
- Experience designing and building web-based interfaces (i.e., HTML, JS).
- A commitment to following the best methodological practices in computer and behavioral sciences, such as pre-registration of studies, sharing of well-documented computer code, version control such as Git, writing reproducible research reports, open sharing of data whenever feasible, etc.
- High proficiency in English.
- High motivation and ability to work independently and as part of an (interdisciplinary) team alongside other computational scientists and behavioral scientists. Ability to coordinate feedback from teams of senior collaborators.
- Willingness to present and communicate research in internal and external seminars and conferences.
Desirable skills include:
- Experience designing and conducting behavioral or economic experiments in the lab or online via platforms such as Prolific or Amazon Mechanical Turk and/or recruitment of panels.
- Familiarity with common concepts in cultural evolution or at least some experience working with cultural data.
- Experience developing and deploying interactive web applications (e.g., React, FastAPI, Docker, Kubernetes).
- Demonstrated experience with applying AI in creative domains, such as using Large Language Models in creative writing or using diffusion models in visual art.
Our Offer
- An interesting position at the internationally renowned Center for Humans and Machines.
- Working in a dynamic multidisciplinary team with colleagues from experimental psychology, evolutionary anthropology, art, science, economics, computer science, and physics.
- Strong support from our science support team and the opportunity to guide and work with research assistants.
- Support with public outreach (e.g., social media, print media, or exhibitions).
- Room to develop and realize your ideas.
- Possibility to work partly from home office.
Your Application
The Max Planck Society strives for gender and diversity equality. We welcome applications from all backgrounds.
The Max Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individuals.
To apply, please address a
- statement of research interests,
- a CV without a photo,
- a copy of relevant certificates,
- if applicable, (p)reprints of max. three publications led by the applicant,
- and a list of three referees
to: Prof. Dr. Iyad Rahwan, MPI for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, 14195 Berlin. Please submit all documents in ONE FILE.
Applications will be evaluated on a first-come-first-serve basis and will continue to be received until July 1st, 2023, or until the position(s) are filled.
The data protection declaration for the processing of personal data within the scope of your application can be found here:
https://www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/1589569/en_infos_bewerbung.pdf
