Connectionists: 2-years post-doc position in neuro-computational AI ethics, ISIR, Sorbonne University, Paris

[Mehdi Khamassi]

Context
The CAVAA European project (https://cavaa.eu/) proposes to realize a 
theory of awareness instantiated as an integrated computational 
architecture and its components to explain awareness in biological 
systems and engineer it in technological ones. In a world governed by 
hidden states, awareness enables to deal with the “invisible”, from 
unexplored environments (counterfactual pasts and futures) to social 
interaction that depends on the internal states of agents and moral 
norms. In particular, we will study such cognitive architecture agents’ 
ability and propensity of reasoning, decision-making, or revisiting past 
experiences, but also reflecting upon what was right or wrong given some 
moral norms, and which possible future states could be right or wrong. 
CAVAA’s awareness engineering is accompanied by an ethics framework 
towards human users and aware artefacts in the broader spectrum of 
trustworthy AI, considering shared goals, counterfactuals and 
projections towards new future scenarios, and prediction of the impact 
of choices. CAVAA aims to deliver a better user experience because of 
its explainability, adaptability, and legibility.

Location and environment
The post-doc position will be located in the Institute of Intelligent 
Systems and Robotics (ISIR, http://www.isir.upmc.fr), Paris, France. 
ISIR belongs to Sorbonne Université, CNRS and INSERM, and is located in 
the center of Paris, thus at walking distance from the Seine river, from 
other academic institutions (La Sorbonne, Collège de France, Muséum 
d'Histoire Naturelle, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Université Paris Cité, 
Hôpital la Pitié Salpétrière), and from famous monuments (Notre Dame, 
Conciergerie, Panthéon, Théâtre du Châtelet, Institut du Monde Arabe). 
Speaking or understanding French is not required. This work will be done 
in close collaborations with philosophers, engineers and computational 
neuroscientists of the CAVAA consortium.

Profile
We are looking for highly motivated candidates with a strong academic 
record. An excellent background is expected at the interface between 
computational neuroscience and machine learning. Significant experience 
in cognitive architectures and computational modeling for neuroscience, 
psychology, AI or cognitive robotics will be appreciated. Mastery of 
reinforcement learning and game theory, and advanced programming skills 
in modern C++ and python are required. A strong interest in philosophy 
of mind and moral philosophy is expected.

Mission
The post-doc work will focus on ethical reasoning through 
virtualization, deliberation and alignment with human values. The 
theoretical framework will be anchored on probabilistic model-based 
reinforcement learning, extended to include homeostatic, epistemic and 
social values, including social conventions and moral norms as starting 
point. Research will investigate learning through interaction with the 
environment and with other agents, social decision-making, mental 
simulation and counterfactual reasoning to inform humans about potential 
long-term consequences of actions. The model will be confronted to 
experimental data about human decision-making when confronted to various 
social and moral dilemmas. The model will be integrated into the CAVAA 
cognitive architecture and applied in artificial agents and robots in 
virtual and real-world scenarios involving spatial navigation and social 
interaction.

To apply
Applicants should send a CV, letter of motivation (max 2 pages), and a 
list of two references via e-mail to 
mehdi.khamassi at sorbonne-universite.fr and 
raja.chatila at sorbonne-universite.fr. Please put [CAVAA post-doc 
application] in the subject of the mail. Review of applications will 
begin immediately, and will continue until the position is filled.

-- 
Mehdi Khamassi, PhD, HDR
Research director (DR2), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Institute of Intelligent Systems and Robotics, Sorbonne Université
ISIR - BC 173, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France
phone: +33 6 50 76 44 92
email: mehdi.khamassi at sorbonne-universite.fr
https://pages2.isir.upmc.fr/mkhamassi/

Visiting Researcher at the Institute of Communication and Computer Systems
National Technical University of Athens, Greece
https://www.iccs.gr/en/?noredirect=en_US