Assistant, Associate or Full Professor, AI & Society
Position Information
Position Title: Assistant, Associate or Full Professor, AI & Society
Department: Department of AI and Society
Posting Link: https://www.ubjobs.buffalo.edu/postings/57734
Posting Detail Information
Position Summary
The Department of AI and Society (AIS) at the University at Buffalo (UB) invites candidates to apply for multiple positions as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Full Professor.
The new AIS department was created with the goal of creating AI systems that are designed to be built by society, for society. We seek to upend the dominant approach where AI systems are built with accuracy as the primary metric and then "fine tuned" for societal considerations. A successful candidate is expected to contribute to our initial attempts to make this vision a reality. To that end, we are looking for candidates who can operate effectively in a team environment with a diverse community of students and faculty, and who share and want to help shape our vision for a new department in the field of AI and Society.
Review of applications will begin immediately with start dates in Fall 2025 and beyond; applications will be considered until all positions are filled.
The AIS department seeks to hire interdisciplinary scholars whose research agenda connects the study of AI with humanistic and/or social scientific line(s) of study and are open to hire scholars with training in a wide range of home disciplines, including (but not limited to) Social Work, History, Computer Science, Engineering, Public Health, Digital Media and Art, Education, Psychology, Sociology, Geography, Languages and Literatures, etc. We expect a successful applicant to be a transdisciplinary researcher who incorporates insights across AI and the arts, humanities and/or one or more of the social sciences.
We envision successful candidates might include scholars who:
- Use methodologies, theories, and/or concepts from the arts, humanities and/or social sciences to develop new kinds of AI (e.g. new models or new uses of existing models informed by humanistic or social scientific theory);
- Use AI to engage social science questions (e.g. computational social science) or humanistic lines of inquiry (e.g. digital humanities concerned with social change and justice);
- Develop community-driven (e.g. participatory-design-based) AI solutions to address societal problems (e.g. HCI, Human Factors, and other design scholars specializing in community work);
- Pursue critical work on AI through a social scientific or humanistic lens (e.g. critical algorithm studies or critical artistic work).
These lines of inquiry are by no means exhaustive, but reflect our belief as a department that 1) we cannot have AI systems that are built for society without undertaking meaningful analyses of the strengths and weaknesses of existing AI systems, 2) that AI can, if used effectively, be an important tool in the social sciences, humanities, and arts, and 3) that attempts to build "AI for social good" that do not involve impacted communities from the start of the design process are doomed to fail. Given that AIS is a new department, initially, all faculty members are expected to fully engage and participate in the building of a new department including but not limited to
- Developing a vision for the department that encompasses its role in enhancing training opportunities and engaging communities around issues related to AI and society,
- Developing department policies and procedures,
- Creating undergraduate and graduate programs, including developing and implementing new courses, in the department.
In the steady state, successful candidates will be expected to teach courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels, mentor graduate students, advise students at all levels, and maintain an active research program. The successful Associate Professor or Full Professor candidates should also have a record of scholarly accomplishments, teaching experience, and a record of sustained external funding through grants, fellowships, or foundations. We also expect any successful candidate to work with faculty and experts from multiple fields within the AIS department and/or the UB community in general.
About the Department
The Department of AI and Society (AIS) is the newest department at UB and reports to both School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) as well as the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS). The department has been initially supported by New York State with the goal of being the epicenter of new foundational education and research at the intersection of AI and society.
The University at Buffalo (UB) is a flagship of the State University of New York (SUNY) system, a member of the prestigious American Association of Universities, is the largest and most comprehensive university in the SUNY system, with about 21,000 undergraduates 11,000 graduate students, and 2500 full-time faculty. The College of Arts and Sciences is the home for the liberal arts at UB, with 30 departments, 16 academic programs, and 23 centers and institutes covering the full range of the Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, the Natural Sciences, and Mathematics. The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has about 8,000 students across 10 academic departments. Funding of $400M was recently announced to launch EmpireAI, located at UB and supporting the state-wide consortium. The prestigious NSF National AI Institute for Exceptional Education continues to innovate in the application of AI to address important problems across disciplines.
Buffalo is a city with a rapidly growing economy, eclectic neighborhoods, world-class art galleries and museums, a vibrant theater and music community, the Lake Erie waterfront, a city-wide system of parks designed by renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, and major and minor league sports teams (yes, we are Buffalo Bills fans!). In short - Buffalo is a well-kept secret. Its not just snow (although yes, we do get snow), but a city where you can afford to raise a family while still enjoying a vibrant small-city life. And, of course, the awe-inspiring Niagara Falls is just 20 minutes away. The department will be located on the UB North Campus in suburban Amherst, an area that combines outstanding public schools and services with a surprisingly low cost of living.
Learn more:
University at Buffalo is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and, in keeping with our commitment, welcomes all to apply including veterans and individuals with disabilities.
Minimum Qualifications
- PhD (or terminal degree) in appropriate discipline conferred by appointment date, or verification provided that all requirements for conferral of the degree have been met.
Salary Range
Competitive
Job Type
Full-Time
Special Instructions Summary
Is a background check required for this posting?
No
Contact Information
Contact's Name: Atri Rudra
Contact's Pronouns: he/him/his
Contact's Title: Chair
Contact's Email: atri@buffalo.edu
Contact's Phone: 716-645-2464
Posting Dates
Posted: 07/01/2025
Deadline for Applicants: Open Until Filled
Date to be filled: 09/01/2025
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