2 x Postdoctoral Research Fellows, Language Machines Project

University of Birmingham; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 37,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Birmingham invites applications for a PhD-level Research Fellow to join the Language Machines project funded by AHRC. This 3-year programme seeks to map the historical role of the Arts & Humanities in AI innovation and to analyse current reading practices shaped by GAIs.

Applicants with interdisciplinary expertise in twentieth-century British literature, book history, history of technology/STS, or digital humanities are encouraged.

Qualifications

• PhD relevant to the research area (or near completion).
• High level analytical capability.
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly.
• Fluency in relevant models, theories, and methods, and ability to contribute to developing new ones.
• Plan and coordinate research work.
• Coordinate own work with others to support effective collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Work within the Language Machines project, and contribute to the generation of new knowledge
• Analyse and interpret research data in a variety of formats
• Disseminate research findings for publications, research seminars, etc.
• Contribute to developing new models, techniques and methods
• Undertake management/administration arising from research
• Contribute to research-related activities and administration
• Collect research data; this may be through a variety of research methods, such as archival research, scientific experimentation, literature reviews, and research interviews
• Fosters a fair and equitable workplace for all staff

Skills

Analytical thinking

Communication skills

Team collaboration

Research design

Education

PhD in relevant field

Job description

These posts form part of 3-year AHRC-funded research grant, ‘Language Machines: the Arts & Humanities' Contributions to Artificial Intelligence Innovation’, led by Dr Rebecca Roach and with co-leads based at the University of Birmingham.

Language Machines addresses four linked challenges. Firstly, the significant contributions the Arts & Humanities (A&H) have made to Artificial Intelligence (AI) innovation historically are poorly understood; Secondly, the challenges posed by generative artificial intelligences’ (GAI) transformations of our linguistic reading practices today, which require A&H expertise; thirdly, the language used to render AI today is inaccessible (high-level maths or metaphors of sentience), which impedes public understanding; Lastly, as a society we are missing out on the creative possibilities that the A&H offer for future AI innovation, usage, and regulation.

The project looks both forward and back. The project’s historical component aims to recover the central (but occluded) role of the A&H in creating and analysing AI. It will map three innovative networks of experimenters working with language, meaning, reading, and machines at crucial moments before, during, and immediately after the advent of digital computing.

The contemporary component utilises these historical discoveries as the basis for a series of experiments that analyse GAIs’ current reading practices, both to: develop key findings which articulate and champion the methods, expertise, and practical innovations that the A&H provide; and to utilise such innovation in the creative design and deployment of GAIs in future.

In keeping with the broad focus of the project, applicants with expertise in humanistic modes of enquiry, and interdisciplinary working, are encouraged to apply; specialism in twentieth-century British literature and culture, book history, history of technology/STS, archival research, quantitative methods, database development, digital history, and/or Digital Humanities approaches are especially favoured.

Main Responsibilities

• Work within the Language Machines project, and contribute to the generation of new knowledge
• Analyse and interpret research data in a variety of formats
• Disseminate research findings for publications, research seminars, etc.
• Contribute to developing new models, techniques and methods
• Undertake management/administration arising from research
• Contribute to research-related activities and administration
• Collect research data; this may be through a variety of research methods, such as archival research, scientific experimentation, literature reviews, and research interviews
• Fosters a fair and equitable workplace for all staff

Person Specification

• A PhD relevant to the research area (or near completion), or equivalent PhD level qualifications
• High level analytical capability
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly
• Fluency in relevant models, theories, and methods, and ability to contribute to developing new ones
• Contribute to the planning and organising of the research project
• Co-ordinate own work with others to avoid conflict or duplication of effort and support effective collaboration

Informal enquiries can be made to Dr Rebecca Roach, [e-mail].

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment

We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working.

£36,636 to £46,049. Grade 7