Postdoctoral Research Associate/Fellow - Science and Technology Studies in Exeter

Postdoctoral Research Associate / Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Science and Technology Studies)

Salary Details

The post

The Faculty is seeking either a Postdoctoral Research Associate or Fellow with expertise in Science and Technology Studies (STS), sociology of science, or a closely related field to work with Professor Anthony King (Principal Investigator) on his ERC Advanced Grant project GENERAL-AI: Artificial Intelligence and Military Decision-Making.

Applicants must have lived continuously in the UK for at least 5 years and be a national of a NATO member state in order to be eligible to obtain and maintain the required security clearance level for the role. Applications from candidates that do not meet the criteria will not be considered.

Appointment will be conditional upon the successful completion of security vetting.

The Project: GENERAL-AI: Artificial Intelligence and Military Decision-Making

GENERAL-AI is a five-year European Research Council Advanced Grant investigating how artificial intelligence is transforming military decision-making. The project challenges speculative accounts of AI taking over military command by examining what AI can actually do, how military commanders and their staffs use AI in practice, and the ethical implications of its use in war.

Focusing on AI-enabled high-intensity land warfare, the project combines the sociology of science and technology, ethnographic research, and philosophy and ethics. It investigates the development of military AI by leading technology companies, its use within NATO and European military headquarters, and the legal and ethical frameworks governing its application.

The project will provide a detailed empirical account of the relationship between AI and human decision-making, while developing new theoretical perspectives on how AI is changing cognition, organisations and military command. Its findings will contribute both to academic debates about AI and to contemporary European security and defence policy.

GENERAL AI consists of three work packages: Work Package 1 examines the technology itself exploring the development and character of AI Decision Support Systems through engagement with the relevant tech companies. Work Package 2 explores the process of decision-making inside military headquarters. Work Package 3 will examine the ethics of military decision making with AI. This post refers to Work Package 1.

The Role:

The successful candidate will undertake research for Work Package 1 (WP1), AI Technology, investigating the development, adaptation and application of artificial intelligence for military purposes.

GENERAL-AI is deliberately empirical. Rather than projecting hypothetical future developments of AI, the project examines the capabilities and limitations of contemporary AI and how it is being developed and adapted for military use. WP1 will therefore investigate how AI technologies are produced, how they acquire particular military functions, and how human expertise and organisational practices shape their development.

Key responsibilities

The successful candidate will:

• conduct a programme of documentary and qualitative research into the development of contemporary AI and its military applications;
• survey relevant academic and technical literature in order to establish the current capabilities, limitations and development of AI;
• develop sufficient understanding of the data, computational processes and mathematical principles underpinning contemporary AI models to engage critically with their technical capabilities;
• conduct qualitative interviews with executives, data scientists, programmers, engineers and other specialists working in leading defence and AI technology companies in the UK, Europe and the United States;
• investigate how technology companies develop and adapt AI software for military applications;
• examine the organisational cultures and working practices through which AI systems are developed, following the project's STS approach to the social production of technology;
• investigate the role of human expertise, judgement and technical labour in the development, maintenance and adaptation of military AI;
• examine how AI systems, data and algorithms are adapted to particular military requirements and operational contexts;
• analyse the regulatory, organisational and practical challenges involved in collaboration between technology companies and the armed forces;
• contribute to the project's broader investigation of the human decision team, examining how apparently autonomous AI capabilities remain embedded within networks of human technical and organisational activity;
• analyse and publish research findings in high-quality academic publications;
• contribute to presentations at international conferences and workshops;
• work collaboratively with the Principal Investigator and the other researchers on GENERAL-AI, while developing an independent programme of research within the project.

The research will include engagement with leading defence and AI technology companies identified in the project, including Palantir, Anduril, Rebellion Defence, Hawkeye 360, Helsing, Mistral AI, Adarga AI and C3.AI. The precise research sample will depend on access and the development of the project.

A central question for WP1 is how AI becomes a military capability. The research will investigate how software, data and algorithms are produced collectively by teams of scientists, programmers and engineers, and how these systems are subsequently adapted to military requirements.

Research environment

The successful candidate will be based at the University of Exeter’s Strategy and Security Institute and will be integrated into the Defence Data Research Centre, providing access to an interdisciplinary research environment. The project also has an international academic and practitioner network spanning the UK, Europe and the United States. The postdoctoral researcher will also work closely with the wider GENERAL-AI team under the leadership of Professor Anthony King (PI).

About you

The successful applicant will be able to present information on research progress and outcomes, communicate complex information, orally, in writing and electronically and prepare proposals and applications to external bodies.

For PDRA applicants, you will possess a relevant PhD (or nearing completion). For PDRF applicants, you will possess a relevant PhD. Applicants will be able to plan, execute and conduct international level research and publish findings in peer reviewed journals and books.

Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of this role.

Further information

For further information please contact Professor Anthony King , e-mail [email protected] or telephone (01392) 723259.

Interviews are expected to take place end of November/Early December

• Freedom (and the support) to pursue your intellectual interests and to work creatively across disciplines;
• Support teams that understand the University wide teaching goals and partner with our academics accordingly;
• An Innovation, Impact and Business directorate that works closely with our academics providing specialist support for external engagement and development;
• Our Exeter Academic initiative supports high performing academics to achieve their potential and develop their career;
• A multitude of staff benefits including sector leading benefits around maternity, adoption and shared parental leave (up to 26 weeks full pay), paternity leave (up to 6 weeks full pay), and a Fertility Treatment Policy;
• A beautiful campus set in the heart of stunning Devon/Cornwall.