Newtral announces open PhD position in the HYBRIDS project to research disinformation with AI

Newtral is offering an Open Doctoral Candidate/PhD Position for the HYBRIDS project «Claim verification for fact-checking». The PhD research topic will focus on designing automated mechanisms to verify political claims in real-time. The call is open from the 1st March 2023, and the deadline is the 26th April 2023. 

[Newtral anuncia una plaza de doctorado en el proyecto HYBRIDS para investigar la desinformación con IA]

The objectives of this position at Newtral are to develop automated mechanisms for verifying political claims in real-time, retrieving reliable sources of information, evaluating claim similarity and veracity based on context, and developing algorithms resilient to «noisy transcripts». 

The PhD candidate will collaborate closely with Newtral to achieve these objectives, with the ultimate goal of creating a prototype for live fact-checking of political debates. Expected outcomes include a list of reliable sources for political fact-checking, and use cases for climate emergency, immigration, and Euroscepticism. 

The position is aimed at candidates who are not long-term residents of Spain. As part of the eligibility criteria, applicants must not have lived or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Spain for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the recruitment date. The position is a full-time contract with an estimated starting date of 1st July 2023

This call is for one of the 11 PhD positions for the HYBRIDS Doctoral Network granted under the Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (HE MSCA) and co-funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) HE funding guarantee. This transnational research project aims to design and develop new automated tools to help counter the threat of misinformation through natural language processing and Artificial Intelligence.

Eligibility Criteria

• Mobility: At the time of recruitment, the researcher must not have resided or carried out his/her main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Spain for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the recruitment date. Time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention or compulsory national service are not taken into account.
• The candidate must be at the date of recruitment a doctoral candidate (i.e. not already in possession of doctoral degree). Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will not be considered eligible.
• The candidate must agree to work exclusively for the action.

Specific requirements:

• Degree: All applicants should have a first-class honour degree or equivalent, or a MSc degree, in Computer Science (or a related discipline: Mathematics, Physics…)
• Programming skills: Strong expertise in software development (Python). Knowledge of deep learning frameworks (Pytorch, TensorFlow).
• Language: Excellent command of English, together with good academic writing and presentation skills.

This project seeks a doctoral candidate interested in natural language processing and deep learning for automated detection of disinformation, with good knowledge of machine learning and deep learning methods. Experience in natural language processing is a plus. Additionally, the candidate should have basic knowledge of working with Python programming frameworks such as Flask and Django, and familiarity with container technologies such as Kubernetes or Docker is also desirable.

How to apply 

For the complete information on this offer (salary, application documents and evaluation criteria), please visit the HYBRIDS website, where you can apply online. 

Deadline: April 26, 2023, at 23h59 CET (UCT + 01:00)

Candidates are encouraged to contact the HYBRIDS Project Manager (info@hybridsproject.eu) for assistance or for any information related to the application process. When contacting, please indicate the position reference in the subject line: HYBRIDS- DC9 for this specific call.