Postdoctoral Research Fellow in law and/or ethics of artificial intelligence applications in health

The position

Applications are invited for a three-year postdoctoral fellowship in Law and/or Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications in health. This presents an outstanding opportunity for career advancement in a relatively new field of research. The position is at the Department of Clinical Medicine in collaboration with the Department of Computer Science at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. The suitable candidate will be interested in examining the ethical and legal implications of AI and other new computing technologies in medical applications. A preference will be given to applicants interested in speech and/or neurotechnologies and/or minority groups.

The goal is to contribute broadly to research on legal and/or ethical applications of AI in medicine. The successful candidate will be expected to provide evidence of exceptional potential for academic research and publication. A background in law and/or ethics would be ideal, however, it is not necessary to have already carried out research on law and/or ethics in AI, but the applicant must demonstrate evidence of the potential to undertake significant research that will contribute to medical applications of AI and/or be of relevance to minority groups

General information about the position:

The position is a fixed term position for a duration of three years. Appointment to the position of Postdoctoral Research Fellow is mainly intended to provide qualification for work in top academic positions. It is a prerequisite that the applicant can carry out the project over the full course of the employment period. No person may hold more than one fixed term position as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the same institution.

Unless special circumstances indicate otherwise, postdoctoral projects shall be planned with stays abroad. The duration should be at least 6 months.

Start date: Spring/Summer 2025. The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. you must be able to start within reasonable time after receiving the offer.

The position's field of research

The postdoctoral researcher position is affiliated with two EU projects (TRUSTING - and DELTA-LANG) that concern themselves with medical applications of speech technologies to prevent clinical worsening in patients with mental illness. We have a large team working on developing technological solutions for these applications. This project complements the technology development, with research on the legal and ethical implications of speech and / or neurotechnologies in such applications of AI and their relevance for minority groups.

Working environment: 

The Health Data Lab (HDL) is a research group at the Department of Computer Science at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. HDL’s mission is to build and experimentally evaluate the systems, methods, and tools needed to analyze and interpret complex health datasets. The group collaborates with the Psychiatry Research Group at the Department of Clinical Medicine at UiT where NLP methods are used to complement traditional methods of evaluating the mental state of psychiatric patients. We also collaborate with The Norwegian Centre for Clinical Artificial Intelligence (SPKI) at the University Hospital of North Norway. In SPKI, the focus is patient-centered AI, in the sense that implementation and actual use of AI for the benefit of the patients and clinicians is considered to be equally important as the research activity of the SPKI centre. All three research groups are in Tromsø, Norway. The HDL and SPKI research groups are part of the Centre of Research-based Innovation SFI Visual Intelligence that is a center-of excellence in machine learning research. The research groups are also active in entrepreneurship, clinical process innovation, and industry collaboration. 

Contact

Further information about the position and UiT is available by contacting: 

• Professor Brita Elvevåg: phone +47 91993063; email: brita.elvevag@uit.no  
• Professor Lars Ailo Bongo: phone +47 92015508; email: lars.ailo.bongo@uit.no  
• Associate Professor Karl Øyvind Mikalsen; phone +47 91565867; email: karl.o.mikalsen@uit.no  

General and administrative questions: 

• Head of administration (Department of Clinical Medicine) Arvid Inge Paulsen, phone +47 77620894; email: arvid.paulsen@uit.no  
• Head of administration (Department of Computer Science) Svein Tore Jensen, phone +47 77644036; email: svein.tore.jensen@uit.no

Qualifications

The successful candidate will hold a doctoral degree in a field relevant to the study of the inter-relations of human rights and artificial intelligence. If you are at the final stages of your PhD, you may still apply if you have submitted your PhD thesis for evaluation within the application deadline. You must submit the thesis with your application and must have received your PhD before the start date of the position. It is expected that you display excellent research skills, and the ability to work independently and without close supervision. 

We are looking for a candidate who:

• is interested, active and highly motivated  
• likes to explore the implications of new technologies in the health domain and / or the relevance in minority groups
• has good communication skills in English. Documented fluency in English is required. Nordic applicants can document their capabilities by attaching their high school diploma.

It is also beneficial if the applicant has an interest and previous experience in collaboration with inter-disciplinary or industrial collaboration. Candidates with research experience and relevant publications in conferences and journals will be considered with higher priority. 

During this assessment process, emphasis will be placed on your potential for research as evidenced by your thesis and any other academic works. In addition, we may consider work experience or other activities of significance. The assessment will emphasize motivation and personal suitability for the position.

At UiT we put emphasis on the quality, relevance and significance of the research work and not on where the work is published, in accordance with the principles of The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). UiT wishes to increase the proportion of females in academic positions. In cases where two or more applicants are found to be approximately equally qualified, female applicants will be given priority. 

We offer

• Participation in an excellent and thriving research group that has recently received a prestigious ERC Synergy grant 
• A productive, collaborative, and stimulating environment with researchers working on cutting-edge medical applications of artificial intelligence and speech technologies
• Good career opportunities  
• Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement  
• Pension scheme through the state pension fund
• The possibility to balance professional development with a location to experience the liberating arctic nature: ski under the northern lights, hike and bike along the fjords 

Norwegian health policy aims to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their personal finances and where they live, has access to good health and care services of equal standard. As an employee you will become member of the National Insurance Scheme which also include health care services.

More practical information for working and living in Norway can be found here: https://uit.no/staffmobility 

Application

Your application must include:

• Application letter, including a 1-page summary of your motivation for applying for this position, why you are qualified for this position and how you will strengthen the research activity in the research team
• CV, with complete overview of education, supervised professional training, professional experience, and list of scientific publications
• Diplomas and transcripts (all academic degrees)
• Documentation of English proficiency
• Contact information for 2-3 people who can provide references
• A list of your academic production
• Description of your academic production, stating which works you consider most important and of relevance to this position. A brief description of the other listed works should also be included to demonstrate breadth of production. These descriptions shall be an attachment to the application
• Academic works, up to five. The doctoral thesis is regarded as one work

In order to achieve the targeted use of the postdoctoral position, and to strengthen the employee’s career development, a development plan must be available no later than three months after the appointment contract is signed. The development plan must be approved by the immediate leader with personnel responsibility.

If you’re at the final stages of your PhD, you may still apply if you have submitted your PhD thesis for doctoral degree evaluation within the application deadline. You must submit the thesis with your application. Documentation of your completed PhD degree must be submitted before commencement.

All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. If English proficiency is not documented in the application, it must be documented before starting in the position. We only accept applications and documentation sent via Jobbnorge within the application deadline.

Assessment

The applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. The committee's mandate is to undertake an assessment of the applicants' qualifications based on the written material presented by the applicants, and the detailed description draw up for the position. A copy of the assessment report will be sent to all applicants. 

The applicants who are assessed as best qualified will be called to an interview. The interview should among other things, aim to clarify the applicant’s motivation and personal suitability for the position. A trial lecture may also be held.

Inclusion and diversity  

UiT The Arctic University in Norway is working actively to promote equality, gender balance and diversity among employees and students, and to create an inclusive and safe working environment. We believe that inclusion and diversity is a strength, and we want employees with different competencies, professional experience, life experience and perspectives.  

If you have a disability, a gap in your CV or immigrant background, we encourage you to tick the box for this in your application. If there are qualified applicants, we invite least one in each group for an interview. If you get the job, we will adapt the working conditions if you need it. Apart from selecting the right candidates, we will only use the information for anonymous statistics. 

General information

The appointment is made in accordance with State regulations and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants. 

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment.

After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work

The remuneration for Postdoctoral research fellow is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1352. A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted. You will become a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, which gives you many benefits in addition to a lifelong pension: You may be entitled to financial support if you become ill or disabled, your family may be entitled to financial support when you die, you become insured against occupational injury or occupational disease, and you can get good terms on a mortgage. Read more about your employee benefits at: spk.no.

The successful candidate must be willing to get involved in the ongoing development of their department and the university as a whole.

UiT wishes to increase the proportion of females in academic positions. In cases where two or more applicants are found to be approximately equally qualified, female applicants will be given priority.

According to the Norwegian Freedom and Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.