Research Associate: AUTAPP

The role

REPHRAIN , the National Research Centre on Privacy, Harm Reduction and Adversarial Influence Online, is looking for new researchers to shape the future of digital interactions online.

REPHRAIN is the UK's world-leading interdisciplinary community focussed on the protection of citizens online. A UKRI-funded National Research Centre, REPHRAIN has a starting critical mass of over 50 internationally-leading experts at Bristol (lead), UCL, Edinburgh, King's and Bath and 23 founding industry, non-profit, government, law, regulation and international research centre partners. Together we will address the current tensions and imbalances between the substantial benefits to be gained by full participation in the digital economy, and the potential for harm through loss of privacy, insecurity, disinformation and a myriad of other online harms. REPHRAIN will provide the bedrock for innovative socio-technical solutions that empower individuals with regards to privacy and online safety and lead to new products and services for the digital economy.

You will be part of a collective of highly-skilled interdisciplinary researchers associated with REPHRAIN, initially from the five lead institutions, but growing further over the lifetime of the Centre as more projects and researcher/practitioners-in-residence start. Staff associated with REPHRAIN will take part in all Centre-wide activities including project specific meetings, quarterly All-Hands meetings, masterclasses, Knowledge Exchange events and REPHRAIN showcases.

What will I be doing

The AUTAPP project will analyse the current (and future potential) abuse of commercially available Privacy Enhancing Tools (PETs) for criminal purposes, using specific online harms as primary case examples, while also considering the potential role of machine learning and natural language processing techniques to flag a range of online harms on social media: the sale of illegal goods and services, such as drugs, weapons, and online fraud or hacking-related services; child sexual abuse, exploitation and grooming; harassment; sextortion; cyber bullying; trolling, aggression and hate speech; depression and self-harm; and, radicalisation.

The successful candidate will be a promising early-career researcher in the field of machine learning for natural language processing, ideally with experience in large-scale corpus (Big Data) analysis and passionate about making online social media a safer place, especially for children and adolescents.

This is a research project with huge social impact. Safe-guarding measures and operating procedures are in place to ensure that no researcher is exposed to any inappropriate material.

You should apply if

• You have a track record of excellence in machine learning and natural language processing.
• You understand the implications of online harms on the daily lives of citizens, especially children and adolescents.
• You have experience in combining quantitative and qualitative approaches to conduct research.
• You have strong research project management skills.
• You can build strong, effective relationships with a range of people from different sectors and levels of seniority.
• You have excellent communication skills and can clearly articulate verbally and in writing.
• You are someone who can get up to speed quickly, thrives on digesting lots of information, is mindful of competing priorities, and can drive activity forward in a sustainable manner.

We welcome applications from all members of our community and are particularly encouraging those from diverse groups, such as members of the LGBT+ and BAME communities, to join us.