The Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies is currently offering a postdoctoral scholarship in AI philosophy. The scholarship is full-time for one year, starting on September 1, 2025, or by agreement.
The scholarship is funded by the Kempe Foundations. The tax-free scholarship amounts to 350,000 SEK (approximately 29,166 SEK per month) and is typically paid out in four separate installments during the scholarship period. In addition, the department makes available an allowance for research expenses. The last day to apply is May 26th, 2025.
Project Description
We standardly assume that linguistic expressions have the same meanings whether they come from us or from ChatGPT and similar systems. This assumption is natural but deserves scrutiny. There are cases where familiar expressions have unfamiliar meanings because they are produced by someone or something that is significantly different from us. The expression ‘har anledning’ means different things depending on whether it is uttered by a Norwegian or a Swede. 'Polly wants a cracker!' means that Polly wants a cracker in the mouth of an English speaker, but it might be nothing more than a call for attention when uttered by a parrot trained to exclaim these words. Why suppose that the meaning of ChatGPT outputs don’t deviate from ours in similar ways? This issue has recently attracted the attention of philosophers and computer scientists.
Existing research in philosophy and computer science has primarily focused on two possibilities: (i) the natural assumption is correct—ChatGPT outputs have the same meanings as ours; (ii) the natural assumption is incorrect because ChatGPT outputs lack any meaning whatsoever. However, there’s a third possibility: (iii) the assumption is incorrect because ChatGPT outputs have meanings, but those meanings are different from the ones we express when we use those linguistic forms. This project investigates the arguments for and against these alternatives. It touches on questions in philosophy of language and philosophy of mind, such as: What determines the meanings of linguistic expressions? What is required to have mental states? What are the relationships between language and thought? The project involves researchers from Umeå and Uppsala.
We welcome applications with a research plan related to any aspect of this complex question. Applicants are encouraged to think broadly about this.
Qualifications
To qualify as a postdoctoral scholarship holder, you must hold a completed doctoral degree (or a foreign degree deemed equivalent) in philosophy or have equivalent competence. This qualification must be met by the time the decision on the scholarship recipient is made. The applicant should have obtained their degree no later than three years prior to the deadline for applications. If there are special reasons, candidates who completed their doctoral degree prior to that may also be eligible. Special reasons include illness, parental leave, appointments of trust in trade union organizations, military service, or similar circumstances, as well as clinical practice or other forms of appointment/assignment relevant to the subject area.
Proficiency in English, both written and spoken, is required.
Assessment criteria
Ability to conduct and publish research of the highest international quality
Alignment of the research plan and research profile with the project aims
Willingness and interest in collaborating with others in a joint project
Interdisciplinary research interests
Application
A complete application must include:
A cover letter describing your background, qualifications and motivation for your interest in this scholarship
CV
Up to four publications or other relevant writing samples (note that we are more interested in quality than in quantity; in case of more than one sample, please indicate which one(s) you consider most important)
PhD certificate and other relevant degrees
Contact information of two people willing to act as references
A research plan describing the proposed research (no more than 3 pages, references excluded)
The application must be written in English or Swedish, and attached documents must be in Word or PDF format. The application must be submitted via Umeå University’s e-recruitment system Varbi no later than May 26th, 2025.
The Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies is part of Umeå University’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities and has approximately 110 employees. It includes the subjects philosophy, archaeology, environmental archaeology, history, history and education, history of science and ideas, religious studies, and theology.
Within philosophy, we offer education and degrees at the undergraduate, advanced, and doctoral levels. As of autumn 2024, there will be 18 tenured faculty members within the philosophy subject. Research activity is high, covering a wide spectrum of philosophical areas, comprising philosophy of artificial intelligence, philosophy of science, aesthetics, history of philosophy, epistemology, philosophy of mind, metaethics, metaphysics, normative ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of language, and applied ethics. A research seminar is held weekly during the academic term. Additionally, guest lectures, reading groups, workshops, and conferences take place periodically. We have a strong international profile with a strong record of publications in high-quality international journals. There are ongoing collaborations with researchers from other institutions both nationally and internationally. For more details about research in philosophy at Umeå, please visit individual researchers’ websites.
