Postdoctoral researcher (17 months): Ethics and Epistemology of LLMs4EU: Design, Data and Deployment

Job description

The LLMs4EU project, coordinated by the Alliance for Language Technologies (ALT-EDIC), aims to preserve European linguistic and cultural diversity in the digital age through cooperation between economic and academic actors. Indeed, some European languages are threatened to be left aside from generative AI development due to the lack of resources to train language models. Furthermore, the project intends to bring together some of Europe’s leading players in the field of generative AI to ensure that European companies and especially SMEs have access to the tools and resources to become competitive regarding language technologies and especially Large Language Models (LLMs), a market currently dominated by U.S. companies. The project builds on existing European initiatives to ensure LLMs, and their technical ecosystems are openly available in every EU language by capitalizing on existing European programs and competencies. The tools that will be made accessible to European companies will cover steps from training LLMs to ensuring their conformity to European legislation (AI Act, GDPR, etc.). The ALT-EDIC consortium includes organizations working in more than 20 countries, which ensures fair geographical and linguistic coverage. The project will develop different relevant use cases in five domains (telecommunications, science, tourism, public services, energy) to demonstrate the capacity of European actors to work together to create adapted tools for different economic sectors, and the coverage of all EU languages will be ensured through the creation and acquisition of the necessary datasets by the project.

Regarding AI development, LLMs4EU aims to create AI-based technologies that actively mitigate and manage associated risks. The tools developed by the project will be fully aligned with European values (i.e., privacy, non-discrimination, robustness in legal, ethical and technical terms, mitigation of possible bias, reliability and trustworthiness, interpretability and explainability, security and safety). The goal is to presenttechnologies that respect ethical and legal requirements, including the European Commission's Ethics guidelines for trustworthy AI.

About the position:
We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Researcher to join the University of Twente team of philosophers on tasks in WP 6 in the LLMs4EU dedicated to the comprehensive assessment of the ethical, legal and epistemological implications associated with the project's activities and outcomes including data collection and fine tuning, as well as their design processes and implementation. This includes:

• Deployment of a benchmarking framework for legal and ethical issues (T6.3).
• Requirements and guidelines for fine tuning and validation including sociolinguistic flattening and cultural heritage preservation in data curation (T6.4)
• Ethics compliance and ethics advisory board (T6.5)
• Framework for ethical and epistemological aspects of the LLM design process including data sourcing, applications and implementation (Ethics-by-Design).

Your profile

• PhD in a relevant field (ethics, philosophy of science, philosophy of science in practice, science and technology studies, ethics of AI, or related domains such as computer sciences with ethics component, computational linguistics or sociolinguistics with ethics component)
• Demonstrated experience with AI-ethics, ethics compliance, philosophy of science
• Affinity with computer sciences, conceptual modelling and design-processes of AI-tools and LLMs
• Affinity with cultural diversity
• Strong organizational and communication skills
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively
• Fluency in English

Our offer

• A full-time appointment of 1.0 FTE for a period of 17 months, with the possibility of extension
• A salary in accordance with the Dutch Collective Labour Agreement for Universities, scale 10, step 4 to step 12, ranging from €4,241 to €5,538 gross per month based on full-time employment
• A dynamic and intellectually stimulating research environment within an internationally oriented philosophy section
• Excellent employment conditions, including 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• A unique opportunity to contribute to a large European research project on the ethical, legal and epistemological implications of Large Language Models
• A collaborative academic environment with strong links to ethics of technology, AI ethics and philosophy of science

About the department

About the organisation

At the Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences (BMS), we unite the worlds of people and technology to address today’s complex societal challenges. We are passionate about understanding human behaviour, fostering responsible innovation, and designing solutions that create societal value. Our educational programmes span disciplines such as Psychology, Business Administration, Public Administration, Communication Sciences, Philosophy, Educational Sciences, and Health Sciences. Through our bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Professional Learning & Development programmes, and interdisciplinary research themes – including Emerging Technologies & Societal Transformations, Resilience, Smart Industry, Learning, and Health – we empower students and researchers to make a positive societal impact.

At BMS, we combine critical thinking with practical action. From advancing sustainable mobility with innovations like the world’s most efficient hydrogen car to shaping policies that promote digital inclusion, our work contributes to a healthier, fairer, and more sustainable future. Whether it’s exploring how technology influences human behaviour or leveraging data and innovation to transform industries and communities, we ensure that technology serves people – and not the other way around.

As an employer, BMS offers a vibrant, inclusive, and entrepreneurial environment where you can thrive personally and professionally. Join us and become part of a forward-thinking community that equips you to shape the future – for yourself and society. With us, you will become part of a leading technical university with increasing, positive social impact.