Chair Professor/Professor of Practice/Professor/Associate Professor (5 posts)
- Employer
- Hong Kong Baptist University
- Location
- Hong Kong
- Salary
- Competitive Salary
- Date posted
- Sep 14, 2021
View more
- Position Type
- Faculty Positions, Science, Technology & Mathematics, Computer Sciences & Technology, Other Science & Technology
- Employment Level
- Tenured/Tenured Track
- Employment Type
- Full Time
HONG KONG BAPTIST
UNIVERSITY
Ethical and Theoretical AI Lab
Chair Professor/Professor of Practice/Professor/Associate
Professor (5 posts) (PR0410/19-20)
Overview
Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), ranked 287 globally in the QS
World University Rankings (QSWUR2022) and top 62 in THE Asia
University Rankings (2021), has defined six interdisciplinary
research laboratories to enable academics from different
backgrounds to work together on common sets of problems and to
contribute to the positioning of this dynamic and globally oriented
University as a research-led liberal arts institution of worldwide
significance.
Details of the six interdisciplinary research labs can be found on
the HKBU Research website at:
https://research.hkbu.edu.hk/organisational-structure/interdisciplinary-research-labs
The Ethical and Theoretical AI Lab is one of the six labs.
One of the aims is to build research strength in the study of the
ethical and social implications of AI and of related foundational
challenges in the development of future AI. The focus on AI ethics
is a natural choice in light of the existing mass of experts in
applied ethics and humanities research at HKBU. It will also be a
timely and significant endeavour, because the explosive development
of AI technologies has already given rise to a host of challenging
moral and societal issues. Future developments of AI are expected
to pose grand questions about human dignity and, as some luminaries
have warned, to expose humanity to a serious existential
risk. We are now shifting our efforts from making machines do
more things to making sure that machines can do the right thing.
This shift is exactly the research focus of the Lab.
The lab will also pursue key theoretical inquiries in AI research
that are closely related to the theme of ethical AI. Examples
include Explainable AI, Validation AI, and Emotion AI.
Details of the posts
With the above goals in mind, five senior scholars will be
recruited in the immediate future to lead the Lab’s research
agenda. Consistent with the interdisciplinary nature of the Ethical
and Theoretical AI Lab initiative, these leading scholars will find
appropriate academic homes in departments across the university,
including, for example, the Department of Religion and Philosophy,
the Department of Translation, Interpreting, and Intercultural
Studies, the Department of Humanities and Creative Writing, the
Department of Computer Science, the Department of Mathematics, or
relevant departments in the School of Communication and the School
of Business. It is expected that one or more of the five positions
will be filled by applicants with expertise in mathematical
modelling and algorithmic development, as these relate to central
issues in theoretical and ethical AI.
Expertise in one or more of the following areas would be a major
advantage:
1. AI Ethics (the foundations of moral
machines)
2. Machine Behavior
3. Cognitive Science
4. AI Validation
5. Explainable AI (and Symbolic AI)
6. Foundations of Emotion AI/Affective
Computing
7. Computational and Cognitive Linguistics
8. AI and Digital Humanities
Brief descriptors for these areas are as
follows:
1. AI Ethics (or the Foundations of Moral
Machines)
A number of ethical questions have been raised about the current or
future AI technologies, ranging from the fairly specific issues
such as algorithmic bias, moral decision making by machines,
ethical standards of AI, corporate governance, legal framework and
risk management, and surveillance, to the more general issues such
as the moral status of non-human agents and the alleged existential
threat posed by future, super-human AI. We are looking for
researchers to tackle some of these questions. We are especially
interested in scholars who specialize in ethics/the philosophy of
technology or machine behaviour, and who have a good understanding
of the relevant AI techniques and technologies. Also of interest
are theorists who work on the formal principles of moral reasoning
and automated moral decision making.
2. Machine Behavior
Understanding the behavior of AI agents is one of the pivotal
challenges of the next decade of AI. Understanding AI agents
goes beyond interpreting a specific algorithm and requires
analyzing the interactions between agents and with the surrounding
environment. Thus, machine behavior plays a decisive role in the
study of ethical AI. We are looking for scientists with expertise
in behavioral science and machine intelligence who are able to
contribute to this important area of research.
3. Cognitive Science
Cognitive science is the study of the mind and its processes.
Cognitive scientists study intelligence and behavior, with a focus
on how human brains represent, process, and transform information.
The key concepts of cognitive science—perception, memory,
attention, and reasoning—are central to the theory of AI. We are
looking for cognitive scientists who will pursue fundamental
research on human and machine intelligence.
4. AI Validation
AI validation aims to justify the correctness of the outcomes of
systems of machine intelligence, the emphasis being, for example,
on a given system’s performance in accordance with human
expectations about desirable action. Validation represents yet
another set of pivotal challenges for the next generation of AI.
Relevant research ranges from how to express human expectations
with precision to how to validate the correctness of machine
behavior. We are looking for scientists to lead the research in
this crucial area of AI validation.
5. Explainable AI (and Symbolic
AI)
Explainable AI aims to build AI systems that do not just output
answers or decisions, but also in some way make the process of
problem solving or decision making understandable to human users.
Explainable AI is regarded by many to be crucial for establishing
trust in AI systems, which, in turn, is an important step towards
addressing certain ethical concerns about automated decision
making. The prospect of making explainable AI by integrating
symbolic AI with the connectionist paradigm is particularly
promising. We are looking for researchers with expertise in
explainable AI, human-machine interactions, human psychology,
behavioural sciences, and decision sciences, and, ideally, experts
in symbolic AI who are willing to work closely with machine
learning experts at HKBU.
6. Foundations of Emotion AI/Affective
Computing
Another exciting and challenging area of AI research that bears on
AI ethics is emotion AI or affective computing, which is concerned
with the construction of computational systems that can react to,
simulate, or even replicate human emotions. We are looking for
researchers who undertake philosophical and/or psychological
theorizing of emotions, as potential foundations for emotion AI (or
as a basis for doubting the possibility of machine emotions).
Ideally these researchers will also be familiar with the technical
developments in emotion AI.
7. Computational and Cognitive
Linguistics
One area that is closely related to emotion AI is computational
linguistics. The field encompasses computer-assisted corpus
linguistics and morphology, machine learning as it relates to
natural language, and natural language processing. Given the
presence of expertise in linguistics/cognitive science as well as
natural language processing at BU, we are looking for researchers
who will add to and complement the existing strength. An expert in
computational linguistics and cognitive science who also has an
interest in emotion AI would be ideal.
8. AI and Digital
Humanities
With the Faculty of Arts playing a central role in the Ethical and
Theoretical AI Lab, digital humanities is a core element of the
Lab’s activities. Broadly construed, digital humanities encompasses
humanistic critiques of digital technologies, which also dovetail
with AI ethics. We are looking for researchers with an interest in
Gender Studies and AI (for example, the question as to whether and
how AI technologies serve to reinforce or alleviate gender
inequality), Human Creativity and AI (covering issues such as the
transformation and/or distortion of creative activities by the use
of AI, comparisons between algorithmic creativity and human
creativity, and the value of human creativity in the imagined
presence of superintelligence), and AI and Imagined Worlds
(focusing, for example, on the role of fictional representations of
AI in theorizing about the ethical behaviour of machines).
Colleagues recruited will have access to seed money and appropriate
research facilities/support, as well as a generous array of
competitive research funding from Hong Kong’s Research Grants
Council, the Innovation and Technology Commission, and other
external sources.
Interested candidates should have relevant expertise, a proven
research record, and the readiness to contribute to an
interdisciplinary research team. They should be talented,
motivated and committed to the Lab to make it a sustainable
research hub.
The above positions are on tenure-track with initial appointment on
three-year fixed-term contracts. Re-appointments thereafter
will be subject to mutual agreement and availability of
funding. Tenured appointments, if applicable, are expected to
be attained within six years. Rank and salary will be
commensurate with qualifications and experience.
Prospective applicants who wish to discuss the positions and/or the
plans for the Lab are welcome to contact the Co-chair of the Search
Committee: Prof. Mette HJORT, Dean of Faculty of Arts at
mettehjort@hkbu.edu.hk or Prof. Yi-ke GUO, Vice-President
(Research and Development) at vprd@hkbu.edu.hk.
Search Committee members include:
Prof. Mark SHUTTLEWORTH (Translation, Interpreting and
Intercultural Studies)
Prof. Jiming LIU (Computer Science)
Prof. Chris WONG (Biology)
Dr. Ellen ZHANG (Religion and Philosophy)
Prof. John ERNI (Humanities and Creative Writing)
Dr. William CHEUNG (Computer Science)
Prof. Christy CHEUNG (Finance and Decision Sciences)
Dr. Celine SONG (Journalism)
Prof. Xue-Cheng TAI (Mathematics)
Application Procedure:
Applicants are invited to submit their applications at the HKBU
e-Recruitment System (jobs.hkbu.edu.hk) and send in samples of
publications, preferably three best ones out of their most recent
publications/works, statements of teaching and research interest
and recent teaching evaluation results. Applicants should
also request two referees to send in confidential letters of
reference, headlined “Ethical and Theoretical AI
Lab” with PR number quoted to the Human Resources Office
(Email: recruit@hkbu.edu.hk) direct. All application
materials including publication samples, scholarly/creative works
will not be returned after the completion of the recruitment
exercise unless upon request. Details of the University’s
Personal Information Collection Statement can be found at http://hro.hkbu.edu.hk/pics.
The University reserves the right not to make an appointment for
the posts advertised, and the appointment will be made according to
the terms and conditions then applicable at the time of
offer.
Review of applications is on-going and will continue until the
positions are filled.
Hong Kong Baptist University is committed to creating a
diverse environment and is an equal opportunity
employer
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