Postdoc in Data attribution for large language models at IT University of Copenhagen

The IT University of Copenhagen invites highly motivated individuals to apply for a postdoc position. The earliest possible starting date is 1 January 2025.

The IT University’s vision is to create and share knowledge that is profound and leads to groundbreaking information technology and services for the benefit of humanity. The Computer Science Department seeks to conduct research and education that are both foundational and have impact on industry and society.


Job description
Recent generative systems based on pre-trained language models are remarkably fluent, but this is achieved by training on vast amounts of data under the doctrine of ‘fair use’. The current practices do not ensure proper attribution to the original creators of the data used for training. There also is little directed effort on creating frameworks that would ensure attribution, and ideally also compensation for the creators.

This project will focus on developing methods for data attribution for large language models, as well as a conceptual framework for the kinds of references that are needed and expected by the creator community. The postdoc will co-supervise two PhD students to be hired directly on this project. The group currently has one more postdoc and three PhD students, working on various aspects of interpretability and analysis of large language models.

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in Computational Linguistics/Natural Language Processing, as well as core skills in programming in Python and machine learning. Prior experience in an area relevant to data attribution is a plus, e.g. explainable summarization, fact-checking, memorization, citations analysis. Relevant expertise in AI governance or legal aspects of attribution would also be a plus.

The position is funded for 2 years. The postdoc will receive mentorship and support in clarifying their career goals and strengthening their profile in the relevant areas. Besides adding to their count of top-tier publications, the postdoc will build up their international network and collaborative skills and increase their visibility through e.g. organization of an international workshop and/or conference tutorial. For those interested in pursuing an academic career, the following is also possible (but entirely optional):

• gain experience in applying for external funding with professional support of ITU funding unit
• supervise Master students solo, and/or assist in supervising a PhD student
• undertake a formal teacher training program, including teaching guest lectures in the relevant data science courses at the ITU computer science department

The research environment
The NLPnorth research group is currently the largest in Denmark, with 5 faculty working on various aspects of NLP. The candidate will also be a member of the national Pioneer Centre for Artificial Intelligence, a 5-university Danish research endeavor. Both the centre and research group are highly international and well-funded, working on a broad range of research topics.

Here you can find some reflections by foreign PhD students in the NLPNorth research group.

The main supervisor will be Associate Professor Anna Rogers. This project has planned collaborations with Kyle Lo (Allen Institute for AI), Sherry Tongshuang Wu (HCI, Carnegie Mellon University), Japan’s leading supercomputing center RIKEN-CSS, and the ML and Society team at HuggingFace.


General information
The IT University of Copenhagen (ITU) is a teaching and research-based tertiary institution concerned with information technology (IT) and the opportunities it offers. The IT University has more than 160 full-time Faculty members. Research and teaching in information technology span all academic activities which involve computers including computer science, information and media sciences, humanities and social sciences, business impact and the commercialization of IT.


About the Computer Science Department
The ITU Computer Science Department conducts research in all aspects of computer science and data science, including algorithms, databases, government IT, machine learning, natural language processing, network science, optimization, programming languages, quantum computing, robotics, security, semantics, software engineering, software verification, type theory, and more, as well as a range of applications. The department has 55 permanent faculty, 65 PhDs and postdocs, as well as other staff. It is responsible for the IT University's most technical education programs BSc Software Development, BSc Data Science, MSc Computer Science, MSc Data Science, and MSc Software Design.


Working at the IT University
Located in modern architecture, a 6-minute metro ride from the center of Copenhagen, the IT University offers an informal working environment, a varied everyday life, and a highly motivated, ambitious, competent, and diverse international faculty, with PhD degrees from 17 different countries. The IT University is an equal opportunity employer and prides itself in actively and successfully pursuing an improved gender balance among students and among faculty.


Working in Copenhagen
Copenhagen has a solid educational system, a rich cultural life, universal healthcare, good childcare, and well-functioning infrastructure. Copenhagen is among the world’s most livable cities according to the Economist Global Liveability Index. Living and working in Copenhagen will be a good experience for you and your family.


Salary and terms of employment
Appointment and salary will be in accordance with the Ministry of Taxation’s agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC) and job structure for academic staff at Universities.

The applicant will be employed and enrolled at the ITU University for a period of 24 months.


Qualification Requirements
The applicant must hold or be close to completion of, a PhD-degree with proven research experience in Natural Language Processing with a strong publication record, for example, publications in top conferences such as *ACL, EMNLP, ICLR, or similar, or in journals of a comparable quality.


Application
The application and all other documents ought to be in English and must include:

• A full CV including name, phone number, e-mail, previous and present employment and academic background, a complete list of publications, and the names and addresses of 2-3 professional references.
• A cover letter discussing the match between this position and your qualifications, your research and career agenda, the direction you would like to take in this project, and your preferred starting date.
• A brief statement listing up to 3 publications, your contributions to them, and the relevance of the corresponding skills or expertise to this project (up to 1 page).
• Documentation of academic degrees (copy of degree certificates etc.)

Applications without the above-mentioned required documents will not be assessed.

The applicant will be accessed according to the Appointment Order from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of 13 March 2012.

The IT University may use shortlisting in connection to the recruitment process. In case of shortlisting, the Chair of the hiring committee selects applicants for assessment in consultation with the hiring committee after the application deadline. All applicants are notified whether their application has been passed for assessment. The shortlisting of candidates for assessment is based on the criteria in the job posting.


Further information
Questions about the position can be directed to Associate Professor, Anna Rogers, IT University of Copenhagen, [email protected]. Early contact with the PI is encouraged. The list of PI’s upcoming talks, where it may be possible to meet in person, can be found in this page.

Questions related to the application procedure may be directed to HR, [email protected].


Application procedure
You can only apply for this position through our e-recruitment system. Apply by pressing the button "Apply for position" in the job announcement on our website.

The IT University might upon request in the interview process contact 1-2 references.

Please note that all application material will be destroyed after the assessment.


Application deadline: 15 November 2024, at 23:59 CET.


Applications/enclosures received at ITU after the application deadline will not be taken into consideration. If you submit an application, it is your responsibility to ensure that it arrives before the deadline so please allow sufficient time for upload of publications and other documents.


At IT University we have an international environment and view diversity as a valuable resource. We are committed to ensuring an inclusive working environment for all our employees and encourage all qualified applicants, regardless of age, gender, religious affiliation, or ethnic background to apply for the position.