Universities Are on an AI Philosopher Hiring Spree

 

Universities Are on an AI Philosopher Hiring Spree

Artificial intelligence is raising existential questions about knowledge and humanity—and creating exploding demand for philosophy professors equipped to investigate them.

Numerous philosophy departments have hired faculty to focus on AI, exploring questions such as what it means to have a mind and what constitutes knowledge.

Photo illustration by Justin Morrison/Inside Higher Ed | membio/iStock/Getty Images

The job market for humanities scholars may be bleaker than ever—except for the handful of academics who specialize in the philosophy of artificial intelligence. 

Although a small subset of philosophers have long worked at the intersection of science and technology, the rapid integration of generative AI into daily life over the past four years has heightened demand for their expertise. Philosophy departments across the country have already hired faculty for new, AI-specific positions, and a quick scan of the online job board PhilJobs.com shows that the trend isn’t slowing down. So far this fall, more than a dozen philosophy departments—including at Purdue University, the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Georgia Institute of Technology—have announced searches for AI-focused tenure-track faculty. ...

 

 

"Study shows extent of hiring bias in academia: 20% of schools produce 80% of tenure-track profs

 Study shows extent of hiring bias in academia: 20% of schools produce 80% of tenure-track profs

Boing Boing by Elías Villoro /

"Faculty hiring networks in the United States exhibit a steep hierarchy in academia and across all domains and fields…."

There are approximately 5,300 universities and colleges in the United States. In 2020, 18.99 million students were enrolled in the U.S, — Read the rest

"Academic Hiring is an Uphill Battle

Academic Hiring is an Uphill Battle

Wired Top Stories by Samuel Arbesman 

Using a new network-based method of ranking departments, you can see the bias and hierarchy of academia very clearly.