PhD student in Environmental impact of AI within WASP-HS Graduate School

Project description

Third-cycle subject: History of Science, Technology and Environment

The Division of the History of Science, Technology and the Environment is recruiting one doctoral student within "environmental impact of AI" to be conducted within the Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program – Humanity and Society (WASP-HS).

Project: AI Planetary Futures: Climate and environment in Silicon Valley's AI paradigm

This project analyzes the climate and environmental aspects of Silicon Valley-based general-purpose AI systems developed by Big Tech companies, specifically examining how companies' actions relate to their environmental impact. The research will investigate how perceptions of human environmental impact change with accelerating AI implementation.

Supervision: Adam Wickberg is proposed to supervise the doctoral student. Decisions are made on admission.

The doctoral student will be affiliated to the WASP-HS Graduate School. The Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program – Humanity and Society is a national research program in Sweden. The vision of WASP-HS is to foster novel interdisciplinary knowledge in the humanities and social sciences about AI and autonomous systems and their impact on human and social development. 

What we offer

• The possibility to study in a dynamic and international research environment in collaboration with industries and prominent universities from all over the world
• A workplace with many employee benefits and monthly salary according to KTH's Doctoral student salary agreement
• A postgraduate education at an institution that is active and supportive in matters pertaining to working conditions, gender equality and diversity as well as study environment
• Inclusion into the WASP-HS graduate school, building an academic network with other humanities and social science scholars working at the nexus of AI and society
• Help to relocate and be settled in Sweden and at KTH

Admission requirements

To be admitted to postgraduate education (Chapter 7, 39 § Swedish Higher Education Ordinance), the applicant must have basic eligibility in accordance with either of the following:

• passed a second cycle degree (for example a master's degree), or
• completed course requirements of at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 second-cycle higher education credits, or
• acquired, in some other way within or outside the country, substantially equivalent knowledge
• approved courses of at least 60 credits at the second-cycle level in history or other subjects in the humanities or social sciences that are deemed to be directly relevant to the specialization in question. These requirements are also considered fulfilled by those who have acquired essentially equivalent knowledge in other ways
• demonstrate the ability to write a longer scientific thesis in the subject area, equivalent to a master's thesis

In addition to the above, there is also a mandatory requirement for English equivalent to English B/6.

Selection

In order to succeed as a doctoral student at KTH you need to be goal oriented and persevering in your work. During the selection process, candidates will be assessed upon their ability to:

• independently pursue his or her work
• collaborate with others
• have a professional approach and
• analyse and work with complex issues
• show an understanding of the social complexities and power structures that shapes technology

After the qualification requirements, great emphasis will be placed on personal skills.

Target degree: Doctoral degree

Information regarding admission and employment

Only those admitted to postgraduate education may be employed as a doctoral student. The total length of employment may not be longer than what corresponds to full-time doctoral education in four years' time. An employed doctoral student can, to a limited extent (maximum 20%), perform certain tasks within their role, e.g. training and administration. A new position as a doctoral student is for a maximum of one year, and then the employment may be renewed for a maximum of two years at a time. In the case of studies that are to be completed with a licentiate degree, the total period of employment may not be longer than what corresponds to full-time doctoral education for two years.

To apply for the position

Log into KTH's recruitment system in order to apply for this position. You are responsible to ensure that your application is complete according to the instructions in the ad.

Applications must be received at the last closing date at midnight, CET/CEST (Central European Time/Central European Summer Time).

Applications must include the following elements:

• CV including your relevant professional experience and knowledge

• Personal letter with short account of why you want to pursue doctoral studies, your academic interests and how they relate to previous studies and future goals, as well as to the PhD project.  (Maximum 2 pages long).

• Copies of diplomas and grades from previous university studies and certificates of fulfilled language requirements (see above). Translations into English or Swedish if the original document is not issued in one of these languages. Copies of originals must be certified
• Representative publications or technical reports: For longer documents, please provide a summary (abstract) and a web link to the full text

Other

Striving towards gender equality, diversity and equal conditions is both a question of quality for KTH and a given part of our values.

For information about processing of personal data in the recruitment process.

It may be the case that a position at KTH is classified as a security-sensitive role in accordance with the Protective Security Act (2018:585). If this applies to the specific position, a security clearance will be conducted for the applicant in accordance with the same law with the applicant's consent. In such cases, a prerequisite for employment is that the applicant is approved following the security clearance.

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Disclaimer: In case of discrepancy between the Swedish original and the English translation of the job announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence.

About KTH

KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm has grown to become one of Europe’s leading technical and engineering universities, as well as a key centre of intellectual talent and innovation. We are Sweden’s largest technical research and learning institution and home to students, researchers and faculty from around the world. Our research and education covers a wide area including natural sciences and all branches of engineering, as well as architecture, industrial management, urban planning, history and philosophy. Read more here