Logic List Mailing Archive

PhD student position in formal verification of ethical principles of AI, Umea (Sweden), Deadline: 7 Jan 2019

*A great way to start 2019! ... still a few days to apply!*

    Umea University, department of computing science

*Research topic: Formal verification of ethical principles of AI systems*

Umeå University, the Department of Computing Science, is seeking 
outstanding candidates for a Wallenberg Autonomous Systems Program (WASP) 
PhD student position in Computer Science with focus on formal verification 
of ethical principles of AI systems. Deadline for application is January 
7, 2019.

The Department of Computing Science is a dynamic environment with around 
100 employees representing more than 20 countries worldwide. We conduct 
education and research on a broad range of topics in Computing Science. 
The Social and Ethical Artificial Intelligence group conducts research 
into AI systems that meet their social responsibility, including the 
development of theories, models and tools for oversight, accountability 
and verification, and methods to analyze, design, measure and audit social 
implications. The group collaborates with several national and 
international research groups, and has active links with industry and 
policy organizations. Visit http://people.cs.umu.se/virginia/ for more 
information.

*WASP* The project is part of the Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and 
Software Program (WASP), Sweden?s largest ever individual research 
program, and a major national initiative for strategic basic research, 
education and faculty recruitment. The program is initiated and generously 
funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW) with 2.6 billion 
SEK. In addition to this, the program receives support from collaborating 
industry and from participating universities to form a total budget of 3.5 
billion SEK. Major goals are more than 50 new professors and more than 300 
new PhDs within AI, Autonomous Systems and Software. The vision of WASP is 
excellent research and competence in artificial intelligence, autonomous 
systems and software for the benefit of Swedish industry. For more 
information about the research and other activities conducted within WASP 
please visit http://wasp-sweden.org/.

The graduate school within WASP provides foundations, perspectives, and 
state-of-the-art knowledge in the different disciplines taught by leading 
researchers in the field. Through an ambitious program with research 
visits, partner universities, and visiting lecturers, the graduate school 
actively supports forming a strong multi-disciplinary and international 
professional network between PhD students, researchers and industry. It 
thus provides added value on top of the existing PhD programs at the 
partner universities, providing unique opportunities for students who are 
dedicated to achieving international research excellence with industrial 
relevance.

*Research project* AI systems are increasingly expected to act 
autonomously. Using current Machine Learning approaches that focus on 
pattern matching and rely heavily on correlation methods leads to 
impenetrable systems that are notoriously difficult to monitor (the so 
called black box algorithms). However, trust on autonomous systems depends 
on the possibility to verify and minimally control their behavior. In 
particular, it becomes increasingly important to formally ensure that the 
behavior of an AI system lays within some given principles.

An important research area in AI is therefore the development of theories 
and methods for control and verification of AI systems that adapt to their 
environment without direct intervention of the users. This requires going 
beyond traditional verification and monitoring methods, for two main 
reasons. Firstly, these systems operate in open environments, which cannot 
be fully described nor defined a priori, and therefore rules and 
constraints on its behavior cannot consider all possible situations 
encountered by the system. Secondly, opacity is inherent in open 
environments because the systems are developed and operated by different 
parties, using that use different (proprietary) architectures and 
algorithms.

However, trust in the system requires that we are able to ensure that the 
system complies with societal values and ethical principles, such as 
fairness, non-discrimination, safety or privacy. Theories and tools are 
needed to specify computational representations of these concepts, and to 
verify that a given system complies with these. In this project, you will 
develop methods to verify and monitor the ethical behavior of AI systems 
based on the observation of input and output behavior according to a 
continuously evolving societal optimum.

*About the position* The successful applicant will be employed by Umeå 
University and receive a competitive salary for a period of four years of 
full time PhD studies, provided that the studies are progressing 
reasonably well. PhD students are typically offered the opportunity to 
gain teaching experience on suitable undergraduate courses. If so, the 
employment period is extended to cover the time spent on teaching (at most 
20 %).*Expected starting date is March 1 2019 or as otherwise agreed.*

*Admission requirements* The applicant is required to have completed a 
second- cycle level degree, or completed course requirements of at least 
240 ECTS credits, of which at least 60 ECTS credits are at second-cycle 
level, or have an equivalent education from overseas, or equivalent 
qualifications. To fulfil the specific entry requirements for doctoral 
studies in computing science, the applicant is required to have completed 
courses at second-cycle level degree equivalent to 60 ECTS credits in 
computing science, or in a subject considered to be directly relevant for 
the specialization in question.

Candidates are expected to have very good knowledge in Artificial 
Intelligence and formal methods. Demonstrable knowledge of logics, theorem 
proving and verification is a prerequisite. In particular, candidates 
should be well acquainted with relevant formal and algorithmic techniques, 
and with knowledge representation methods which, as the project proceeds, 
will be applied to develop verification and monitoring models for AI 
algorithms.

Since research is conducted in an international research environment, the 
ability to collaborate and contribute to teamwork, and a very good command 
of the English language, both written and spoken, are key requirements.

*Application*
A complete application should contain the following documents:
? A cover letter including a description of your research interests, your 
reasons to apply for the position, and your contact information
? A curriculum vitae
? If applicable, copy of completed BSc and/or MSc thesis and other original 
research publications
? Copies of degree certificates, including documentation of completed academic 
courses and obtained grades
? Contact information for two persons willing to act as references

The application must be written in English or Swedish, and attached documents 
must be written in or translated to English or Swedish. Documents must be in 
Word or pdf format. Applications must be submitted electronically using the 
e-recruitment system of Umeå University, and be received no later than*January 
7 th, 2019*. Reference number: AN 2.2.1-2063-18. Log on to the system and apply 
via the button at the bottom of the web page: 
https://umu.mynetworkglobal.com/en/what:login/jobID:241808/type:job/apply:1/

Interested applicants are also encouraged to apply for the position with the 
reference number: AN 2.2.1-2063-18.

The procedure for recruitment for the position is in accordance with the Higher 
Education Ordinance (chapter 12, 2§) and the decision regarding the position 
cannot be appealed. We value the qualities that an even gender distribution 
brings to the department, and therefore we particularly encourage women to 
apply for the position.
For additional information, please contact Prof. Virginia Dignum 
virginia@cs.umu.se.

*We look forward to receiving your application!*

Umeå University wants to offer an equal environment where open dialogue between 
people with different backgrounds and perspectives lay the foundation for 
learning, creativity and development. We welcome people with different 
backgrounds and experiences to apply for the current employment.


We kindly decline offers of recruitment and advertising help.

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