University of Kentucky, School of Information Science Application Deadline: Open until filled. This tenure track position will support our instructional communication group. Teaching/research areas may include, but are not limited to, online instruction, instructional communication technology, instructional communication in different contexts, or multi-modal communication.

University of Kentucky, School of Information Science Application Deadline: Open until filled. This tenure track faculty position will primarily support our program in library and information science. Teaching/research areas may include, but are not limited to, digital curation, archives, health information, data science, information literacy, or knowledge organization.

University of Michigan, School of Information Application Deadline: November 30, 2023 Description The University of Michigan’s School of Information (UMSI) seeks a tenure-track assistant, associate, or full professor in the field of online platform design and analysis. We seek candidates whose research combines insights from the behavioral sciences with market design thinking to focus on solving real-world problems. We welcome applications from scholars in the social or behavioral sciences, computer or information science, or statistics among others. Applicants whose work integrates behavioral design to study large-scale social phenomena, especially when combined with technology, will be particularly well-suited for this position. Competitive applicants will have a unique blend of quantitative skills in designing new institutions or platforms (“market design”), with expertise in identifying causal relationships in large-scale data sets from socio-technical domains (“analysis”). Information technology facilitates the design and evaluation of solutions to real-world social problems at scale and low cost. UMSI has a unique group of faculty members with quantitative and computational skills to take advantage of the unprecedented availability of data to gain new knowledge and to solve real-world social problems. Recent applications of randomized controlled trials to socio-technical domains have generated valuable insights into causal factors which address systemic racism present in online platforms, promote prosocial peer-to-peer lending to entrepreneurs in developing countries, encourage people to exercise more and physicians to change antibiotic prescribing behavior, facilitate job search and wage equity, contribute to open content, protect privacy, and optimize social and political marketing campaigns in a time of unprecedented mis- and information glut. We especially encourage applicants who work in the areas of adaptive experimental design, market design, privacy, evaluating bias on platforms, anti-racist online platform design, economic applications of machine learning, and ICT for development. We are open to the domain of study. Examples include (but are not limited to) economics of AI; economics of social networks; recommender and reputation system design; the future of work; race and racism in platform design or information aggregation; health and behavior change; digital advertising; ICT for development; user-generated content and other public goods problems; crowdsourcing; privacy; collective intelligence and other information aggregation problems. The successful candidate should demonstrate potential for or experience with publication and research funding, for collaborative and interdisciplinary initiatives, and for working with students from diverse backgrounds. Job Expectations and Responsibilities Job duties include research, teaching, and service. Job responsibilities include but are not limited to: Conducting scholarly research resulting in publications in peer reviewed journals, book chapters, edited books, books, and conference proceedings Seeking outside funding to support their research program Teaching in UMSI’s five academic programs Mentoring students for independent studies, master’s projects and theses, and doctoral dissertations Providing service to the school, University, and the broader academic community by way of committee work, journal editing, and other various opportunities Each contributing member of the UMSI faculty is expected to have teaching effort equivalent to three semester-long courses per year. About UMSI and UM The mission of the School of Information is to create and share knowledge to help people use information -- with technology -- to build a better world. A successful candidate will be committed to, and will directly contribute to, our goal of being the best research and teaching institution for the understanding and design of information and its technologies in service of people and society. The School is home to vibrant research and teaching programs, with 74 FTE professors, and over 1,803 students. We offer five degrees: a Ph.D., a Master of Science in Information, a Master of Health Informatics, a Bachelor of Science in Information, and an online Master of Applied Data Science. Founded in 1817, the University of Michigan has a long and distinguished history as one of the first public universities in the nation. It is one of only two public institutions consistently ranked among the nation's top ten universities. The University has one of the largest health care complexes in the world and one of the best library systems in the United States. With more than $1.53 billion in research expenditures annually, the University has the second largest research expenditure among all universities in the nation. The University has an annual general fund budget of more than $2.3 billion and an endowment valued at more than $12.5 billion. For more information about UMSI, please visit: www.si.umich.edu Minimum Job Qualifications Ph.D. in an area such as economics, social and decision sciences, computer science, information science, statistics, informatics, or a related field. A strong commitment to connecting information, technology, and people. A strong commitment to interdisciplinary research and cultural diversity. Desired Qualifications Demonstrated potential for high scholarly impact. Demonstrated potential for successful teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels. How to Apply All applicants for this tenure-track or tenured faculty position should submit a cover letter that highlights their qualifications and interest in UMSI, a vita, three representative papers, evidence of teaching excellence if available, a research statement, a teaching statement, a diversity statement. Applicants at the assistant professor level must submit three letters of recommendation; applicants at the associate and full professor level must submit the names of three recommenders. All application materials must be submitted electronically to: http://apply.interfolio.com/133785

The iFederation@ASIS&T AM23 Many industries are examining how the introduction of AI technologies is changing their landscapes. The information professions are at the unique juncture of having had a hand in developing these technologies and having the foresight to see what these technologies mean for the future of the information profession. Join us for an informative and entertaining session that will explore these issues in a debate format. Our panel of innovative AI thought leaders will provide insights into the critical questions, arguments and implications exploring whether AI is a tool of discovery or an instrument of disruption. Key questions in the debate include: Does AI affect information integrity? Is AI so dangerous to the information professions and research that it must be legislated? Is AI so beneficial to discovery in the information professions and research that it should be unfettered? The session is moderated by Dr. Chirag Shah. This iFederation@ASIS&T AM 2023 session will be held on October 23, 2023 (10:00 am Eastern (find your time here). The 90-minute virtual discussion. is open to all members of ALISE, ASIS&T, or iSchools.

University of Sheffield, Information School Application Deadline: November 13, 2023 We are seeking to recruit a Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Data Science to enhance and expand our excellent research and teaching in these areas. The successful applicant will make a strong contribution to the further development of our research activities, to the delivery of our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and to the supervision and development of research students in cognate areas. You will have a PhD (or equivalent) in a relevant field, a developing (Lecturer) / established (Senior Lecturer) research profile, a proven teaching ability, a strong commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration, and will make a key contribution to advancing the School’s leading position in the field. You will make a strong contribution to the further development of our research activities; to the delivery of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes; and to the supervision and development of research students. You will collaborate with other relevant research groups and networks in the School, and across the University. As the roles will involve supervising and supporting research students and colleagues they will be required to foster a culture of mutual support and collegiality. At Senior Lecturer level, we are interested in hearing from you if you also have experience of supporting staff performance and the ability to lead and manage research activity. If you feel like you would be a good fit for the role, we would love to hear from you!

Universitat Oberta de Catalunya Application Deadline: November 07, 2023 Affiliated teaching staff for the Introduction to databases course. This course is part of the Bachelor's Degree in Techniques for Software Application Development. The course's main objective is relational databases, from their creation and querying (including stored procedures and triggers) to access to databases from programs (JDBC). The problems arising from concurrent access to databases and alternative models to the relational model (and their database management systems) are also studied. Requirements Bachelor's Degree in Computer Engineering or a related field. Advanced knowledge of database management systems, database design, SQL, PostgreSQL, Java, and JDBC. Professional or research experience in the field of databases. Teamwork capability and a good level of written communication. Having a separate main line of work is an indispensable requirement for the selection process. Also of interest Ph.D. in Computer Engineering or related field. Teaching experience will be valued at the university level, especially in non-face-to-face settings. Previous experience as a UOC student or affiliated teaching staff will be positively valued. Knowledge of Catalan and/or Spanish.

State University of New York at Albany, College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity (CEHC) Application Deadline: November 01, 2023 The College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity (CEHC) is the first of its kind in the nation; uniting people, technology, and knowledge to address the challenges of the 21st century. ETEC is the $180M research, instructional and entrepreneurial complex in which CEHC resides, providing our faculty state of the art laboratory and teaching spaces. The Assistant Director for IT and Facilities will provide high-level technical, administrative, and functional IT and facilities support to the faculty, staff, and students of the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity (CEHC). The Assistant Director will establish, administer, and support the computing and technology-related resources (drones, 3D printers, etc.) of CEHC's research and instructional lab spaces and related facility spaces, and develop plans to improve and maximize utilization of existing technology.

State University of New York at Albany, College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity (CEHC) Application Deadline: November 01, 2023 The College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity (CEHC) is the first of its kind in the nation; uniting people, technology and knowledge to address the challenges of the 21st century. ETEC is the $180M research, instructional and entrepreneurial complex in which CEHC resides, providing our faculty state of the art laboratory and teaching spaces. The University at Albany has received $75 million from New York State to launch an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Supercomputing Initiative. Through this investment, the Information Sciences & Technology Department is seeking applicants for an Assistant or Associate Professor position in the growing field of Artificial Intelligence within Game Design and Development. The successful candidate will provide evidence of expertise in AI and AI gaming technology, and address how AI is integral to their research program.

State University of New York at Albany, College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity (CEHC) Application Deadline: October 26, 2023 The College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity (CEHC) is the first of its kind in the nation; uniting people, technology and knowledge to address the challenges of the 21st century. ETEC is the $180M research, instructional and entrepreneurial complex in which CEHC resides, providing our faculty state of the art laboratory and teaching spaces. The University at Albany has received $75 million from New York State to launch an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Supercomputing Initiative. Through this investment, The Cybersecurity Department is seeking applicants for Associate or Full Professor. The candidate will demonstrate a strong, established research record, showing evidence of both publication and funding in their careers. The candidate will display an ability and track record of teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and demonstrate their commitment to pursuing challenging problems in cybersecurity and AI.

Indiana University, Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering at IU Indianapolis Application Deadline: January 02, 2024 The Department of Human-Centered Computing at Indiana University’s Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at Indianapolis invites applicants for a Lecturer appointment in the online Human-Computer Interaction Program. Exceptional instructors are being sought to join our fast-growing department. This is a teaching-focused faculty position. The responsibilities of the position include teaching online courses in the Human-Computer Interaction Program, developing courses; help setting program goals; developing and continually updating the curriculum and training activities; contributing to the recruitment and marketing of the program; interviewing, evaluating, and advising students; engaging in scholarly activity; serving as a member of the school and departmental committees; maintaining current knowledge in the field through active participation in professional organizations, collaboration, practice, and research; and serving on professional committees. The appointment will begin August 1, 2024. For this position, relocation is optional as the position can be in-person, remote, or hybrid-based.

Rutgers, School of Communication and Information ASIS&T attendees will focus on translating information research into practice, policy, and action. The School of Communication and Information’s iSchool faculty and doctoral students will participate in the 86th Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) Annual Meeting, scheduled from October 27-31 in London, England. This year’s conference will focus on the theme, “Making a Difference: Translating Information Research into Practice, Policy, and Action.” Referencing the multiple challenges facing the global citizenship, the conference website states, “As the premier international conference in the field, the ASIS&T Annual Meeting is a forum to assist in addressing these issues as we continue to push forward the positive contributions of information and technology.” ASIS&T has named Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Library and Information Science Nicholas Belkin the inaugural recipient of the ASIS&T Fellow Award. “This award,” wrote ASIS&T, “recognizes individuals who have made substantial and sustained contributions to ASIS&T and the broader field of Information Science. ASIS&T Fellows have made a significant contribution to one or more of the following areas of information science: research, products, teaching, and service to the profession, the association, and other entities such as government, industry, etc. Fellows must uphold ethical and professional standards to be appointed and to maintain the honor.” Throughout the conference, SC&I faculty and doctoral students are participating in numerous panel presentations, long and short paper sessions, and poster sessions. On Friday, October 27: At the 19th Annual Social Informatics Research Symposium: Turning Social Informatics Research into Action in a Changing Moment, sponsored by SIG-SI, Assistant Professor Britt Paris and Associate Professor Rebecca Reynolds (PC Member and Vice Chair of Papers) are participating in the panel presentation: “Multiactor Edtech Data Ethics Advocacy (MEDEA): Ethical Edtech Governance in Higher Education.” The schedule on Sunday, October 29, includes: Panel presentation with Associate Professor Rebecca Reynolds: “Search Systems and Artificial Intelligence: Enhancing Searching as Learning Approaches to Counter Misinformation” Long Papers session with Assistant Professor Britt Paris and Associate Professor Khadijah Costley White: “Meeting People Where They Are: Hyper-Local Engagements Around COVID-19 Misinformation in New Jersey” Panel presentation with Professor Marie Radford, doctoral students Kaitlin Montague and Laura Costello, and alumna Vanessa Kitzie Ph.D.’17, MLIS’12: “Research Experiences and Lessons Learned While Investigating in Virtual and Physical Spaces” Poster session with doctoral student Emma May: “Solidarity and Care: Information Activism in the Death Panel Podcast Community,” and Poster session with Assistant Professor Jessica Yi-Yun Cheng: “A Text Mining Approach to Uncover the Structure of Subject Metadata in the Biodiversity Heritage Library.” On Monday, October 30, includes the awards luncheon and the following: Meeting panel with doctoral student Kaitlin Montague: “Reflecting on Two Decades of Information Horizons Theory and Method: Applications and Innovations” Meeting panel with Associate Professor Kaitlin Costello and doctoral student Xiaotong Du, hosted by SIG-HLTH: “Building a Bigger Table: Food Research, Methods, Policy, and Action in Library and Information Science,” and Meeting panel with Associate Professor Charles Senteio: “Strategies for Conducting Critical Research in Information Science by Designing Social Justice Research Informed by Intersectionality.” The schedule on Tuesday, October 31, includes: Short Paper session (Technology and Society) with doctoral student Catherine McGowan: “Geofence Warrants, Geospatial Innovation, and Implications for Data Privacy” and Short Paper session (Information Practices Around Technology) with doctoral student Kaitlin Montague: “When Push Comes to Pull: Place, Mobility, and Information Access for Vehicle Residents.” Additionally, Kaitlin Montague was accepted for the ASIS&T Doctoral Colloquium, “Investigating Place, Mobility, and Information Access Through an Ethnographic Study of Vehicle Residents’ Information Practices in Northern California.” The goals of the colloquium are “to provide doctoral students with a supportive and critical learning opportunity to discuss their work, highlight theoretical and methodological problems/issues for further discussion and inquiry with senior mentors and Colloquium participants.” View the full ASIS&T conference agenda here.

Carnegie Mellon University, Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy By Bill Brink Is this the real life? Or is this just fantasy? You recognize your doctor’s voice on the phone, but is it really her? Surely your favorite musician didn’t just use an ethnic slur during a concert. And that doesn’t seem in character for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to call upon his troops to surrender, does it? Yet in March 2022, there he was on a Ukrainian news website, doing just that. The video was what is known as a deepfake, a product of artificial intelligence that either manipulates the likenesses and voices of real people or creates fictitious people from scratch. This one wasn’t particularly well done, and the real Zelensky stood up and squashed it in short order. But had just one Ukrainian brigade believed it, watching on a small screen with spotty reception after months of brutal fighting, their surrender could have been all the Russians needed to change the course of the war. Deepfakes are revolutionizing scams and amplifying misinformation. They have the potential to defraud, embarrass, blackmail and deceive. They are unstoppable and more accessible than ever, and policing them involves the grayest of gray areas, with nothing less than the First Amendment at stake. “One person's satirical joke is another person's dig at their belief system and perception of reality,” said Ari Lightman, a Distinguished Service Professor of Digital Media and Marketing at the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy. “And so it’s really challenging. We have woefully underprepared the next generation to deal with these issues.” The history of deepfakes AI didn’t invent misinformation. It just poured nitroglycerin on the fire. Altering images for the purposes of misleading people dates back to at least Stalin’s Great Purge. Just like the realm of cybersecurity, in which we need AI to combat AI-powered intrusions, we’ll need to fight fire with fire when it comes to deepfakes and misinformation. Phishing emails begat the rise of the spam filter, which now employs sophisticated AI to deflect intrusion attempts. The same is true of detecting deepfakes, because we’re no longer dealing with the Nigerian prince who can’t spell. VERIFICATION REQUIRED “There has to be some sort of vetting and verification mechanism, because the average user will just assume it's real,” Ari Lightman said. LEARN MORE ABOUT ARI Deepfakes rely on artificial neural networks, a form of machine learning that attempts to mirror the way neurons interact in the human brain. Initially, deepfakes were created by Generative Adversarial Networks, which consisted of two algorithms: The generator, which creates false images or video, and the discriminator, which tries to decipher between fake and real. More recent deepfakes came from auto-encoders, algorithms that encode the crucial features of a face from their training data, to then be decoded by a similarly-trained filter. But now there is no barrier to entry. Voice cloning services like ElevenLabs and synthetic video vendors like Synthesia allow anyone to create deepfakes. Cheaply, too. And they work. Lightman compared it to the proliferation of dating apps, where the privacy and protection offered by Match.com and eHarmony were sidelined as competitors jostled for market share. “They might not have the focus associated with cybersecurity and privacy infringement that others might have,” he said. “And I think the same thing is very much true for folks going into the AI space without any sort of precedent set around regulations, privacy, validation and verification.” What are the risks? The same types of large language models that produce images, videos and audio that look and sound real are also capable of mass-producing propaganda, misinformation and fraud schemes. Generative AI, like ChatGPT, can learn individual writing styles well enough to convincingly mimic them. “If you send out two spear-phishing emails, you will probably get zero responses,” Lightman said. “If you scale that using AI to send out two million, while customizing them for the receiver based on collected behavior patterns so that they appear more believable, then you most likely will increase your hit ratio.” Synthetic video and audio pose a more sinister threat. Fraudsters used a deepfake video of Elon Musk in an attempted cryptocurrency scam. That family member who calls you in a panic, in need of cash now, might be a doctored recording. Those same altered recordings can help would-be thieves gain access to your bank, a problem whether they drain your checking account or swindle a company out of $35 million. The potential for blackmail and revenge is astronomical. The term deepfake, a reference to deep learning, comes from a username on Reddit, which in 2017 became awash with doctored pornographic videos featuring the faces of celebrities, and nonconsensual pornography remains a threat. The FBI recently issued a warning about “sextortion” scams. Finally, deepfakes threaten to undermine the notion of truth itself. Without a shared understanding of what is real and what is not, the fabric of democracy and society threatens to tear. “That’s one big worry, that none of us are going to be able to trust what we see anymore,” said Vincent Conitzer, a member of the Block Center for Technology and Society’s Advisory Council and the director of CMU’s Foundations of Cooperative AI (FOCAL) Lab. “Interesting how that would play out, right?” What can be done? Let’s examine a popular deepfake: Pope Francis in a Balenciaga puffer jacket. Look at his right hand. Odd, huh? Currently, deepfake generators struggle with hands. They also struggle with hair, skin tone and eyes, and sometimes they don’t blink because they’re trained on photos of people with their eyes open. Same thing with the side profile: One of the easiest ways to spot a deepfake on a video call is to ask the person to turn their head. SHARED REALITY “That’s one big worry," Vincent Conitzer said, "that none of us are going to be able to trust what we see anymore." But it’s not reasonable to ask people to employ that level of scrutiny to everything they see. The deepfakes will improve anyway. A more realistic option is to watermark content created with, or altered by, artificial intelligence. “There has to be some sort of vetting and verification mechanism, because the average user will just assume it's real,” Lightman said. Both the private sector and higher education are employing advanced technology to detect deepfakes. FakeCatcher, Intel’s real-time deepfake detector, looks for subtle signs of blood flow, present in real videos but absent in a synthetic. Research from the University of Buffalo detects deepfakes by analyzing the reflection in a person’s eyes. As with all of artificial intelligence, the tricky part isn’t so much creating safeguards as it is enforcing them. The challenge will be distinguishing between “all in good fun” and “intended to deceive.” Good luck to the folks at social media websites, and in state and federal legislatures, trying to write that policy. “There won’t be an easy way to draw the line, because that is the nature of the problem,” said Tae Wan Kim, an Associate Professor of Business Ethics at Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business. “Courts deal with similar issues all the time: When is an offense harmful enough?” In January 2023, China enacted regulations requiring watermarking of synthetic content and the consent of its subject. The European Union updated its Code of Practice on Disinformation to address deepfakes, and the United Kingdom planned to crack down on deepfakes in an amendment to its Online Safety Bill. South Korea passed a law in 2020 outlawing the dissemination of deepfakes intended to harm the public interest. The Defending Each and Every Person from False Appearances by Keeping Exploitation Subject to (guess what it spells) Accountability Act, which was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2019 and again in 2021, and called for watermarking, disclosure and penalties for violation, stalled in committee. As of June 2023, nine states have specific laws regarding deepfakes, mostly dealing with elections and sexually explicit content. In the meantime, citizens the world over must adapt. We know not to give away our social security number over the phone, and we know not to click on links in suspicious emails. To avoid further escape from reality, we now must apply some skepticism to what we see and hear.