PhD: Designing Human-AI Teams for Meaningful Control

University of Birmingham; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 17,000 - 21,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Birmingham invites applications for a Doctoral Studentship hosted by Centre-UB in association with BAE Systems, starting 4 January 2027. The project designs human–AI teams where AI acts at machine speed, ensuring meaningful human control and explainability in uncertain environments.

The student will investigate how to align human decision-making with AI processing speeds, maintain human authority, and ensure intelligibility of AI recommendations.

Qualifications

• A 1st class or 2:1 degree in Cognitive Psychology, Human Factors, Ergonomics, Human–Computer Interaction, or related behavioural science.
• An MSc in a relevant area is desirable though not required.
• Experience with experiments involving human participants and statistical data analysis is essential.
• Familiarity with agentic AI, programming, or computational modelling is desirable.
• Candidates should demonstrate inter‑disciplinary skills and strong written and verbal communication.

Responsibilities

• Design and conduct experiments with human participants interacting with AI agents.
• Explore human–AI team decision making, situation awareness, and task performance in machine-speed operations.
• Analyse data and report research findings with clear interpretation for practical applications.
• Collaborate with Centre-UB and BAE Systems and contribute to project deliverables.
• Assist in preparing dissertation documents and research training activities.

Skills

Experimental psychology

Human factors

Data analysis

Interdisciplinary skills

Communication skills

Education

First-class or 2:1 undergraduate degree in Cognitive Psychology / Human Factors / Ergonomics / HCI

MSc in a relevant area desirable

Tools

CrewAI

Programming

Computational modelling

Job description

The University of Birmingham invites applications for a Doctoral Studentship hosted by Centre-UB in association with BAE Systems, starting 4 January 2027. The project designs human–AI teams where AI acts at machine speed, ensuring meaningful human control and explainability in uncertain environments.

The student will investigate how to align human decision-making with AI processing speeds, maintain human authority, and ensure intelligibility of AI recommendations.