Doctoral Researcher Position in the HUMAIN Project - University of Helsinki - Helsinki, Finland

We are seeking a highly motivated doctoral researcher to join the What Makes Us Human? Identifying, Evaluating and Modelling Specialist AI Competence (HUMAIN) project, investigating how large language models (LLMs) approximate, extend, or diverge from human expertise across domains. The starting date is negotiable but should be no later than November 1, 2026. The position is fully funded until August 31, 2030 (46–48 months, depending on the starting date). As LLMs become increasingly embedded in education, work, and everyday life, understanding their relationship to human competence is both scientifically and societally urgent. Existing benchmarks largely measure accuracy or linguistic fluency, but overlook the tacit, contextual, and ethical dimensions that define real-world expertise. HUMAIN addresses this gap by developing the online Competence Imitation Game (COMIG), a novel, experimentally validated framework that allows domain experts to interrogate and evaluate human- and LLM-generated responses through structured question-answer-evaluation conversations. Combining computational and interpretive methods, the project will generate reproducible, cross-domain datasets of paired human–AI responses, analysed through embedding-based similarity measures, feature extraction, LLM-as-evaluator approaches, and qualitative interpretation. Domain experts are involved from the outset, helping to develop practitioner-informed metrics for imitation quality, contextual alignment, and pragmatic fit. Empirically, HUMAIN will conduct seven COMIG studies spanning everyday life, education, and work, engaging over 900 participants internationally. The project will also evaluate adaptation techniques, including prompt calibration, retrieval-augmented generation, and fine-tuning, to examine how LLMs can better align with domain-specific reasoning. For more information on COMIG, please see the article ”Introducing the Competence Imitation Game: A Research and Teaching Tool for Context-Specific AI Literacy” (https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-4138/paper3.pdf). About the position You will support the further development of COMIG and contribute to empirical data collection, analysis, and reporting. You will be a part of the Research group on AI in Society and Education (RAISE) and work closely with Associate Professor Linda Mannila, PhD Otto Segersven and a postdoctoral researcher to be recruited. Who we are looking for We welcome applicants with a background in computer science, data science, language technology, or a related field. Applicants with, for example, a master's degree in social sciences combined with a strong background in data science, computational methods, or computer science are equally eligible. The position requires:• Strong background in research methodology, including the design and implementation of empirical studies with human participants.• Strong analysis skills, including both quantitative and qualitative methods.• Strong background in computational methods, especially for working with text data.• Experience with mixed-methods research (quantitative and qualitative).• Excellent English skills.• Knowledge of Finnish and/or Swedish, considered a merit, as some studies will preliminarily be conducted in Finnish contexts.• LLM expertise, including prompt calibration, retrieval-augmented generation, and fine-tuning, considered a merit. In addition, according to the system of the University of Helsinki, all doctoral researchers belong to a doctoral programme. The successful candidate should apply to Doctoral Programme in Science and obtain the study right within the trial period of six months of their employment contract. Please check the admission periods and eligibility criteria at https://www.helsinki.fi/en/admissions-and-education/apply-doctoral-programmes/how-apply-doctoral-programmes. We offer • A world class academic community that promotes diversity, international engagement and equality. We encourage all qualified applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply for our positions• A starting salary of approximately 2800 euros/month• Occupational health care and other social benefits• Support for internationally recruited employees with their transition to work and live in Finland• A chance to live in Helsinki and Finland renowned for their high quality of life, services, and work-life balance Application instructions Applications are to be submitted through the University of Helsinki´s recruitment system and include the following documents:• CV • A motivation letter (max 2 pages). Please also include a brief description of your research ideas relevant to the project, for example, how you would design the empirical studies. We are interested in your own thinking about how to approach the methodological and analytical challenges the project raises.• Contact information of two referees to provide reference letters upon request The deadline for submitting the application is August 16, 2026 (at 23:59 UTC + 3). External applicants, please submit your application via the Apply Now button. Internal applicants, who have a helsinki.fi username and a valid employment/grant/visitor contract, please submit your application via the Employee login button. Additional information For more information on the position and the Research group on AI in Society and Education, please contact Associate Professor Linda Mannila (linda.mannila@helsinki.fi). With technical questions related to the recruitment system, please contact recruitment@helsinki.fi. The Department of Computer Science at the University of Helsinkin is a leading unit in Finland in its area and responsible for the teaching and research in computer science at the University of Helsinki. The main research fields at the department are artificial intelligence, big data frameworks, bioinformatics, data analysis, data science, discrete and machine learning algorithms, distributed, intelligent, and interactive systems, networks, security, and software and database systems. The department has extensive international collaboration with companies and universities. Within teaching, the department’s professors and staff are in charge of the Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral Programmes in Computer Science, as well as the separate Master’s Programme in Data Science, in which other departments also participate. The department has extensive international collaboration with companies and universities. Within teaching, the department’s professors and staff are in charge of the Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral Programmes in Computer Science, as well as the separate Master’s Programme in Data Science, in which other departments also participate.