Assistant Professor in Generative AI in the Arts

Faculteit/Dienst: Faculteit der Geesteswetenschappen

Opleidingsniveau: Gepromoveerd

Functie type: Wetenschappelijk Personeel

Sluitingsdatum: 12 January 2023

Vacaturenummer: 10862

What are you going to do?

Generative AI in the past decade has changed the field of artistic creativity, making us ask new questions that are relevant not only for scientific research but also for musicians and artists of all kinds. With this position, we are seeking to broaden our profile with respect to AI-assisted music generation and how AI-generated art can be positioned within the humanities and cognitive science more generally. The explosive growth of creative AI has also brought new ethical and epistemological dimensions to reflect upon, and we are looking for a colleague who can translate this reflection into both teaching and research. The ideal candidate will be somebody comfortable engaging in the ethics and implications of using AI in artistic processes regardless of medium, with more specific expertise in how AI is (and can be) used to make music.

Your base within the teaching department will be the Musicology group. Your research will be affiliated with the Music Cognition Group, which is part of the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC).

The Musicology group is part of the Department of Arts and Culture, a multi-faceted unit that includes bachelor’s and master’s programmes in art history, theatre, cultural analysis, music studies, and performance research. In addition to Musicology teaching, you will also be involved in the Human and Artificial Intelligence major of a new department-wide BA programme called Global Arts, Culture, and Politics, as well as the department-wide MA programme in Art and Performance Research, an innovative two-year programme for students interested in historical, theoretical and practice-based research in the visual and performing arts. You will be teaching a diverse group of bachelor’s students, master’s students, and future researchers from music, theatre, artistic research, performance studies, cognition, AI, and the digital humanities.

The Music Cognition Group applies interdisciplinary perspectives on the capacity to perceive, make, and appreciate music and asks what music is for and why every human culture has it, whether musicality is a uniquely human capacity, and what biological and cognitive mechanisms underlie it. The ILLC is one of the five research schools of the Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research. The ILLC is the leading research institute in the interdisciplinary area dealing with the investigation of information, information exchange, and cognition with formal and mathematical methods. It is deeply rooted in the Amsterdam logic research tradition dating back to the early twentieth century and covers the disciplines of mathematics, music, linguistics, computer science, philosophy and artificial intelligence with staff members from the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Amsterdam.

Tasks and responsibilities:

• designing and conducting independent research on generative AI in music and the performing arts, resulting in academic publications in peer-reviewed international journals and/or books;
• actively pursuing external funding for research, notably funding from research councils, national as well as European;
• actively contributing to and developing national and international research networks and other forms of cooperation;
• actively contributing to the research activities of the ILLC and its Language and Music Cognition unit;
• developing, coordinating, and teaching courses in both Dutch and English, in the Bachelor and Master programmes in Arts and Culture;
• supervising Bachelor and Master theses and tutoring students; co-supervising PhD theses;
• actively contributing to the development and improvement of the broader teaching programmes in the department, with a focus on the new Global Arts, Culture and Politics programme; and
• taking part in committees and working groups, and carrying out departmental administrative tasks as directed.

What do you have to offer?

You are a dynamic and ambitious scholar with a strong profile, international publications, and an international academic network. Your publications show expertise in and a broad knowledge of the role of AI in music and the performing arts, familiarity with music information retrieval and other applications of digital audio processing for music, and a strong affinity with music generation and the role of AI in artistic processes. Your research matches the profile of the ILLC and will complement the Music Cognition Group.

You are able to develop and provide courses on human–AI musical co-creation, computation in artistic practice, AI in the arts, and the digital humanities that are accessible to students of differing technical proficiency. You have flexibility in teaching on topics beyond your own research focus (including students involved primarily in artistic research), a willingness to work in interdisciplinary teams of teachers and the ability to offer inspiring lectures and tutorials in the BA, MA and minor programmes that aspire to a wide range of students.

Your experience and profile:

• holds a PhD in a relevant field (e.g., music, the performing arts, or artificial intelligence), with a research focus on AI in any of music generation, sound synthesis, or performance;
• holds an international academic network in the research area concerned;
• provides research output commensurate with the level of the position;
• is an active and ambitious researcher with a strong publication record;
• demonstrates ability and ambition to obtain external research grants;
• has broad and relevant teaching experience at BA and MA level;
• has an excellent command of English (if Dutch is not the mother tongue, an active and passive command must be acquired within two years of the employment contract and the state examination for Dutch as a Second Language programme II must be passed);
• has experience with digital and audiovisual teaching facilities and affinity with IT in university teaching;
• is a good team player and versatile at all levels, capable of multidisciplinary co-operation;
• has excellent organisational experience and skills; and
• has acquired the Dutch Basic Teaching Qualification, or is willing to acquire this within the first two years.

What can we offer you?

We offer permanent employment upon a satisfactory evaluation following a temporary employment contract of a maximum of 18 months. If you already have an employment contract with the UvA, we offer permanent employment upon a satisfactory evaluation following a temporary employment contract of a maximum of 12 months. There is a probationary period of two months. The employment is for 38 hours per week. Preferred starting date is 12 January 2023.

The gross monthly salary, based on 38 hours per week and relevant experience, ranges between € 3974 to € 6181. This sum does not include the 8% holiday allowance and the 8,3% year-end allowance. A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

We additionally offer:

• the opportunity to collaborate in interdisciplinary teams;
• excellent opportunities for study and personal development;
• an inspiring academic and international working environment in the heart of Amsterdam.

About us

The University of Amsterdam is the Netherlands' largest university, offering the widest range of academic programmes. At the UvA, 30,000 students, 6,000 staff members and 3,000 PhD candidates study and work in a diverse range of fields, connected by a culture of curiosity.

The Faculty of Humanities provides education and conducts research with a strong international profile in a large number of disciplines in de field of language and culture. Located in the heart of Amsterdam, the faculty maintains close ties with many cultural institutes in the capital city. Research and teaching staff focus on interdisciplinary collaboration and are active in several teaching programmes.

Want to know more about our organisation? Read more about working at the University of Amsterdam.

Any questions?

Do you have any questions or do you require additional information? Please contact (during office hours):

• dr. John Ashley Burgoyne

T: +31 20 525 70 34

Job Application

If you feel the profile fits you, and you are interested in the job, we look forward to receiving your application. You can apply online via the link below. The deadline for applying for this vacancy is 12 January 2023.

Applications should include the following information (submitted in one .pdf):

• a letter of motivation;
• a detailed CV;
• a list of publications;
• the names and email addresses of two references who can provide letters of recommendation.

Only complete applications received within the response period via the link below will be considered.

The interviews will be held in the course of the end of January 2023. A trial lecture may be part of the application procedure.

Als werkgever handhaaft de UvA een beleid van gelijke kansen. We vinden diversiteit belangrijk en zetten ons volledig in om een plek te zijn waar iedereen zich thuis voelt. We koesteren de onderzoekende geest en het doorzettingsvermogen en laten de ruimte om door te vragen. Bij ons vormen nieuwsgierigheid en creativiteit de heersende cultuur.

Wij stellen acquisitie niet op prijs