Employed PhD Position (65% TV-L E13) in Language Science/Philosophy of Language (m/f/x)

In order to fill a fixed-term position in part-time (25,8895 hours/week = 65%) at the earliest possible date, we are looking for a

Employed PhD Position (65% TV-L E13) in Language Science/Philosophy of Language (m/f/x)

The Chair of Philosophy of Language and Cognition (rub.de/phil-lang) belongs to one of the largest and most research-active philosophy departments in Germany and is member of the Center for Theoretical and Integrative Neuro- and Cognitive Science THINK as well as the Center of Mind and Cognition at Ruhr University Bochum. Our agenda is deeply rooted in a naturalistic understanding of philosophy. We approach questions in the philosophy and science of language with exact theoretical and advanced empirical methods. The PhD position is part of our DFG funded project "The evaluation of empathy-related linguistic performance in large language models: Comparing surprisal values for next-word prediction in human EEG and LLMs" within the DFG priority area LaSTing “Robust Assessment & Safe Applicability of Language Modeling: Foundations for a New Field of Language Science & Technology” (lasting-spp.org).

Pursuing your PhD in an employed position on our project, you will combine experimental methods in EEG with the analysis of Large Language Models. You will develop and carry out behavioral and EEG experiments independently and competently in our lab and analyze the results. You will compare EEG data related to surprisal in next-word predictions with next-word probabilities read out from various types of LLMs. The project requires you to stay up to date with current methods of EEG and LLM analysis and comparison. Your research will also involve various behavioral measures of empathy in humans and the development of a theoretical framework of empathy and emotions that allows for the comparison and evaluation of Artificial Intelligence relative to human cognition. The results will form the basis for joint journal publications and will amount to a cumulative doctoral dissertation. The successful candidate (m/f/x) will actively interact and cooperate with other projects in the priority area LaSTing and beyond. They are willing to participate in interdisciplinary activities of the chair, its network at RUB, and the priority area, to contribute to writing the project report, to participate in the organization of workshops and conferences, and to be involved in academic self-governance. Teaching is not required.

Scope: part-time
Duration: fixed-term, 36
Start: at the earliest possible date
Apply by: 2026-09-21

Your tasks:

• Developing, executing and analyzing EEG experiments
• Operating and analyzing Large Language Models
• Behavioral measurement of empathy in neurotypical human subjects
• Comparing data from EEG and LLM
• Developing a theoretial framework of empathy and emotions
• Evaluating artificial intelligence relative to human cognition
• Related organizational, reporting and administrative tasks

Your profile:

• Master Degree in Language Science, Cognitive Science, or Philosophy (to be completed by the start of the employment)
• Experience with EEG and/or LLMs is advantageous

https://jobs.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/jobposting/86a5424de69ff18ebf3ec1c3563418e2061ab13d0?ref=AfA