MIT FutureTech are hiring for a Technical Associate role. 

Please apply or share as relevant.

Why apply or share?

• Our work to understand progress in computing and artificial intelligence, and its implications, is highly relevant to understanding and mitigating the risks of AI. This write-up provides a good overview of some of our interests and areas of focus. 
• We are one of Open Philanthropy's 10 largest Global Catastrophic Risk, and AI Governance grantees. 

Position 

TECHNICAL ASSOCIATE I, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) (multiple openings), starting in 2024 for 1 year, renewable.

Location 

Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA 

Job Description 

REQUIRED: bachelor's degree in economics, computer science, data science, or other relevant field; two years of relevant research experience (which may include experience gained as an undergraduate); demonstrated interest in the topics being studied in the lab; strong verbal and written English communication skills; and ability to work as part of a team and contribute to group projects. 

PREFERRED: master’s degree in economics, computer science, data science, or other relevant field.  

MIT FutureTech is an interdisciplinary group of computer scientists, engineers, and economists who study the foundations of progress in computing and Artificial Intelligence: the trends, implications, opportunities and risks.  Economic and social change is underpinned by advances in computing: for instance, improvements in the miniaturization of integrated circuits, the discovery and refinement of algorithms, and the development and diffusion of better software systems and processes. We aim to identify and understand the trends in computing that create opportunities or risks and help leaders in computing, scientific funding bodies, and government to respond appropriately.

Our research therefore helps to answer important questions including: Will AI progress accelerate or decline – and should it? What are the bottlenecks to growth from AI, and how can they be solved? What are the risks from AI, and how can we mitigate them?

To support our research, we run seminars and conferences to better connect the field of computer scientists, economists and innovation scholars to build a thriving global research community.

To disseminate it, we advise governments, nonprofits and industry, including via National Academies panels on transformational technologies and scientific reliability, the Council on Competitiveness’ National Commission on Innovation and Competitiveness Frontiers, and the National Science Foundation’s National Network for Critical Technology Assessment.

Our work has been funded by Open Philanthropy, the National Science Foundation, Microsoft, Accenture, IBM, the MIT-Air Force AI accelerator, and the MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

Some of our recent outputs: 

• The AI Risk Repository: A Comprehensive Meta-Review, Database, and Taxonomy of Risks From Artificial Intelligence
• Beyond AI Exposure: Which Tasks are Cost-Effective to Automate with Computer Vision?
• How industry is dominating AI research  
• The Quantum Tortoise and the Classical Hare: A simple framework for understanding which problems quantum computing will accelerate (and which it will not) 
• A workshop on AI scaling and its implications for AI development, automation, and more 
• The Great Inflection? A Debate About AI and Explosive Growth  
• There’s plenty of room at the Top: What will drive computer performance after Moore’s law?  
• Deep Learning's Diminishing Returns: The Cost of Improvement is Becoming Unsustainable 
• America’s lead in advanced computing is almost gone 
• The Decline of Computers as a General Purpose Technology: Why Deep Learning and the End of Moore’s Law are Fragmenting Computing 
• How Fast Do Algorithms Improve? 

Some recent articles about our research:

• Techcrunch: MIT researchers release a repository of AI risks  
• CNN: AI and the labor market: MIT study findings
• TIME: AI job replacement fears and the MIT study
• Boston Globe: AI's impact on jobs according to MIT

You will be working with Dr. Neil Thompson, the Director of MIT FutureTech. Prior to starting FutureTech, Dr. Thompson was a professor of Innovation and Strategy at the MIT Sloan School of Management.  His PhD is in Business & Public Policy from Berkeley.  He also holds Master’s degrees in: Computer Science (Berkeley), Economics (London School of Economics), and Statistics (Berkeley).  Prior to joining academia, Dr. Thompson was a management consultant with Bain & Company, and worked for the Canadian Government and the United Nations. 

To apply   

Please complete this form.  Select the Junior Research Scientist/Technical Associate position (if that is the only one of interest). 

Selected candidates will be first interviewed via Zoom. We are recruiting on a rolling basis and may close applications early if we find a suitable candidate, so please apply as soon as possible to maximize your chances. ‍‍

About the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) 

CSAIL is one of the world’s top research centers for computer science and artificial intelligence (currently ranked #1).  It has hosted 9 Turing awards winners (the “Nobel Prize of Computing”) and has pioneered many of the technologies that underpin computing.