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For informal enquiries, please contact Markus Brill (Associate Professor) markus.brill@warwick.ac.uk
We are seeking a Postdoctoral Research Fellow (PDRF) to join our interdisciplinary research project "Aggregating Safety Preferences for AI Systems: A Social Choice Approach" (ASPAI) [1], funded by the Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) under their Safeguarded AI programme [2].
The ASPAI project aims to develop formal methods for eliciting and aggregating safety specifications and risk thresholds for AI systems, with a particular focus on mechanisms that provide axiomatic guarantees, are algorithmically tractable, and show good performance in computational experiments. The project's research outcomes are expected to contribute to the design of safeguarded AI systems that reflect diverse stakeholder preferences.
The project is led by the University of Warwick in collaboration with the University of Oxford, HPI Potsdam, University of Groningen, and UC Berkeley. You will join a dynamic team of researchers across multiple institutions, working on cutting-edge problems at the intersection of computational social choice and AI safety.
Our research focuses on developing mathematical frameworks for aggregating human attitudes toward safety specifications for AI systems. The project addresses key challenges in collective decision-making about AI safety, exploring how to combine diverse stakeholder views into coherent safety criteria and how to handle uncertainty in both the elicitation and representation of safety preferences. The mathematical focus of the project includes the formal modeling of stakeholder preferences in the form of approval sets over probability distributions, developing axiomatic frameworks for aggregating these preferences, and addressing challenges of incomplete information and ambiguity. The research draws upon and combines expertise from (computational) social choice, judgment aggregation, (algorithmic) game theory, logic, decision theory, and probability theory.
The position is expected to begin around October 2025, with flexibility in the start date. The position is for 12 months.
Suitable candidates will have (or soon obtain) a PhD in Computer Science, Mathematics, Economics, or a related field. We are looking for candidates with a strong background in one or more of the following areas: (computational) social choice, judgment aggregation, mechanism design, (algorithmic) game theory, logic, or decision theory.
For further information regarding the skills required for this role please see the personal specification section of the attached job description.
For further information about the project, please visit our website at
[1] https://sites.google.com/view/sc4ai/projects/aspai
[2] https://www.aria.org.uk/opportunity-spaces/mathematics-for-safe-ai/safeguarded-ai/technical-areas
The Department of Computer Science at the University of Warwick is a national and international leader in research and teaching, ranked 4th in the most recent Research Excellence Framework out of all UK departments in the subject. We are proud of our global outlook, international research culture, high quality of teaching, and personal attentiveness to our students and staff. Our excellence is also built on extensive collaborations in teaching as well as research with other University of Warwick departments, on an established and vibrant network of links with industry, and on deep and active engagements with national and international partners such as the Alan Turing Institute.
Further information is available on the Department’s website: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/dcs/.
Born in the 60s with a mindset of boldness, imagination and collaboration, the University of Warwick is a world-leading research-intensive university with the highest academic and research standards. We’re one of the world’s top universities, ranked 67th in the world and 10th in the UK*, with 92% of our research assessed to be ‘world leading or internationally excellent’**.
You'll be joining a diverse, innovative and globally connected community committed to igniting real world progress. Here at Warwick, we offer you opportunities to follow your ambitions as long as you bring the energy and determination to succeed.
*QS World University Rankings 2024
** Research Excellence Framework 2021
To find out more about us visit our website.
CLOSING DATE: Sunday 15th June 2025 at 23:55 (BST)
To apply, please click ‘Apply’ below and submit an application form by the closing date.
You will have to attach a CV and a cover letter.
Since the application only includes two document attachment slots, you should include your research statement as further pages on your cover letter document and not as a standalone attachment.
Please provide the contact details for at least two academic references.
Please note that all essential criteria must be met by candidates who are invited to interview.
We will provide you with a great range of benefits, which include an attractive pension scheme, 30 days holiday plus Christmas closure, excellent learning and development opportunities, and savings on a wide range of products and services. We offer a generous maternity/paternity/adoption/parental leave policy, and onsite childcare facilities.
We recognise the importance of a healthy work/life balance and offer you access to flexible working, for more information click here.
We are proud to say that we are a Living Wage employer.
If you are considering relocating to the UK, read our Relocation Guide to find out more about what Warwick has to offer and what might be involved in the process.
Warwick is committed to building an organisation of mutual respect and dignity, promoting a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive working and learning environment. We recognise that everyone is different in a variety of visible and non-visible ways, and that those differences are to be recognised, respected, and valued. Where possible, we go beyond legislation to provide a place where everyone can thrive, supporting all staff to achieve their full potential. We aspire to remove economic, social, and cultural barriers that may otherwise prevent people from succeeding.
We therefore welcome and encourage applications from all communities regardless of culture, background, age, disability, sex/gender, gender identity or expression, ethnicity, religion/belief, or sexual or romantic orientation. To find out more about our social inclusion work at Warwick visit our webpages here.
The University currently holds a Race Equality Charter Bronze Award, Athena Swan Sliver Award and a Disability Smart Bronze Award. Further information on all of the University's Awards and Accreditations can be found here. The University of Warwick is also one of the six founder institutions of the EUTOPIA European University Alliance.
Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS)
The University of Warwick is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all those we work with.
In line with the DBS Code of Practice, the successful candidates for any roles involving regulated activity, will be subject to a DBS check at the appropriate level. The University will take all necessary measures to ensure that any individual subject to a barring order does not undertake any work with the barred group specified (i.e. children and/or adults).
We expect all employees, volunteers, and partners to share our commitment to safeguarding.
Rehabilitation of Ex-Offenders
The University undertakes not to discriminate against anyone who makes a disclosure relating to a conviction. The information disclosed at application stage is only visible to the central DBS team (i.e. not recruiting managers) to ensure there is no bias during the shortlisting process.
If you do not yet have the right to work in the UK and/or are seeking sponsorship for a Skilled Worker visa, please follow this link which contains further information about obtaining the right to work in the UK.
This opportunity is closed to applications.
