35.3151, Jobs: Postdoctoral on language emergence and acquisition in humans and machines, Ecole Normale Supérieure

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-35-3151. Fri Nov 08 2024. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 35.3151, Jobs: Postdoctoral on language emergence and acquisition in humans and machines, Ecole Normale Supérieure

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Date: 09-Nov-2024
From: Emmanuel DUPOUX [emmanuel.dupoux at gmail.com]
Subject: Cognitive Science, Computational Linguistics, Language Acquisition: Postdoctoral on language emergence and acquisition in humans and machines, Ecole Normale Supérieure


University or Organization: Ecole Normale Supérieure
Department: Departement des études Cognitives
Job Location: Paris, France
Web Address: https://cognition.ens.fr/en
Job Title: Postdoctoral on language emergence and acquisition in
humans and machines
Job Rank: Post Doc

Specialty Areas: Cognitive Science; Computational Linguistics;
Language Acquisition

Description:

Job description
The Cognitive Machine Learning team of the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en
Sciences Sociales and Ecole Normale Supérieure (PSL University) seeks
to recruit one postdoctoral researcher at the intersection between
linguistics and AI to work within the ERC-funded InfantSimulator
Project.

InfantSimulator investigates the mechanisms enabling young children to
learn their native language(s), and do so apparently much more
efficiently and robustly than current AI systems. The successful
candidate will be integrated into a multidisciplinary team comprising
language scientists, developmental psychologists, and machine learning
experts.

They will develop quantitative methods to compare humans and current
AI models (speech language models) in their ability to acquire a
language based on the limited quantity and noisy data available to
young children in real life. They will in particular examine the
extreme case of language emergence in which the learner receives such
a limited input that they develop a new (proto)language.  The task
will be to develop metrics or criteria to compare the properties of
the emerging language to those found across the typology of human
languages. If interested, candidates may participate in the teams’
activities in (co)advising master and PhD students and/or teaching.

Research context
The Cognitive Machine Learning (CoML) team, a vibrant team composed of
10-15 people at the heart of the Quartier Latin in Paris, was
established 10 years ago by Emmanuel Dupoux with the aim to reverse
engineer human learning abilities using AI techniques. The team is
inserted internationally, in a network of academic and industrial
collaborators (META FAIR, Google Brain, INRIA teams), and locally in
the Data Science Center and in Laboratory of Cognitive and
Psycholinguistic Sciences (LSCP), a CNRS research unit with expertise
in language and baby science hosted in the interdisciplinary
Department of Cognitive Studies (DEC) of the Ecole Normale Supérieure.

Requirements
We expect candidates with a strong background in
theoretical/typological/experimental  linguistics  (PhD level
required), and at least basic skills in data science or machine
learning (good command of high-level languages like Python or R).
Familiarity with the language acquisition area would be a strong
advantage. Excellent communication skills, team spirit, and an ability
to work in autonomy are essential; open science experience is highly
valued, as well as an appetite for multidisciplinarity and the ability
to think outside of the box. Fluent English, both spoken and written,
is required.

Start date: The positions would start in the fall of 2024 or early
2025, are funded for up to 4 years, and include a relocation package.
Applications and requests for information: Review of applications
begins on Nov 15, 2024, on a rolling basis. Please send to
syntheticlearner at gmail.com - a complete CV, - a 1-page cover letter
explaining how you fit the requirements mentioned above, - a 2-page
research statement explaining the research directions you hope to
explore in the next two years, - a sample of your own writing (e.g., a
publication you wrote), - (a link to) a sample of computer code you
produced - contact information of two references

Application Deadline: 31-Dec-2024
Mailing Address for Applications:
Email Address for Applications: contact at cognitive-ml.fr
Web Address for Applications: https://cognitive-ml.fr
Contact Information:
        CoML Team Emmanuel DUPOUX
        Email: contact at cognitive-ml.fr



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