If you would like to do a PhD at FOCAL, consider applying for a PhD program at CMU's Computer Science Department (CSD). Please do not send us an e-mail to apply for a PhD or to inquire about the status of your application, etc. If you are a strong applicant and you mention FOCAL in your application to CSD, then FOCAL's director Vince Conitzer will hear about it. If you think CSD is not the most natural department for you, please reach out to Vince. Vince is also affiliated with: MLD, the machine learning department, and doing a PhD in MLD, or in any other SCS department, would be relatively similar; as well as Philosophy and the Tepper School of Business (where doing a PhD would be relatively different in structure). You may of course apply to more than one of these departments.
The Computer Science Department of Carnegie Mellon University has an exciting opportunity for a Postdoctoral Fellow in a new lab being set up by Prof. Vincent Conitzer. Research for this position (and in this lab) focuses on rethinking the foundations of game theory and decision theory for advanced AI agents. A key goal is to enable such agents to achieve desirable cooperative outcomes in non-zero-sum strategic interactions.
The ideal candidate has a strong background in fields including game theory, formal epistemology, AI and multiagent systems, and theory broadly construed. (It is not required to have a background in every one of these fields.) Previous work on, or closely related to, the specific topics above is also highly desirable. The successful candidate is able to quickly get into new research areas and will be responsible for actively engaging in novel research questions, as well as publishing and communicating research results. The candidate will also take a broader role in the lab, including collaborating with and possibly advising other members of the lab, and generally participating in and contributing to activities in the lab.
We expect the position to last 1 or 2 years (in the latter case, conditional on satisfactory review); it may be possible to extend the position beyond that. The starting date is flexible; please indicate constraints or preferences.
Please address any questions about the position to Prof. Vincent Conitzer.