Vacancy for student assistant in Governing the Digital Society – SIG Principles by Design

For the Special Interest Group Principles by Design within the focus area Governing the Digital Society we are looking for a student assistant for 0,1 FTE (4 hours a week) for 9 months (January 2023-August 2023). 

The position involves the following tasks:

• Help organizing SIG events. In particular, the assistant will be responsible for co-organizing a student-led workshop on robotic & AI ethics
• Writing posts about the events 
• Communication with SIG affiliates and other interested parties

The ideal candidate has:

• Good organization and communication skills (in English)
• Interest for questions about data and society
• Preferably has some experience with video editing
• Enrolled as MA at Utrecht University

If you are interested in the position please send a short motivation and CV to Machiko Kanetake (m.kanetake@uu.nl) by 30 November 2022.

About SIG “Principles by Design”

Data and algorithms are surrounded by an aura of accuracy, objectivity, and truth. However, they are designed by people for specific purposes and with specific intentions. In other words, they are the result of human decisions and values, but also the prejudices that underlie them. These are usually the values of commercial companies, and in particular the computer programmers and engineers involved in the design of new digital technologies. Given that trend, there is a need to develop good data practices, meaning more critical and creative alternatives to the commercial (and therefore exploitive) data practices that are the professional standard today. The triangle of fundamental European values – democratic society, fundamental rights and the rule of law – are threatened by current practices. Systems for collecting and analyzing data sets (e.g. SyRi), of which there are more and more, must be critically examined for their epistemic and ethical impact. In addition, we also need to gain more insight into the possible frameworks for regulations.

The SIG Principles by Design deals with questions such as: what are good data practices? When do the principles of good data apply? How do we implement these principles in the design of our technologies?