Post-Doctoral Fellow, AI-Enabled Scams as a Systemic Security Challenge

About the role

Data & Society is seeking a post-doctoral research fellow for our AI-Enabled Scams as a Systemic Security Challenge project. This position will report to the Director of Research, Alice Marwick, and will not have people manager responsibilities. It is fully remote and will begin in September 2026 with an end date of May 31, 2028.

Overall

This position will examine how artificial intelligence is reshaping democratic practice, knowledge production, security, and trust. Specifically, it will look at how artificial intelligence is supercharging scams, frauds, and hoaxes, and how trust, legitimacy, and risk are constructed in online interactions, focusing on youth financial cultures such as cryptocurrency, multi-level marketing schemes, sports betting, influencers, prediction markets, retail arbitrage, memestocks, drop-shipping, “hustle and grind” culture, etc.

Primary Responsibilities

• Contribute to the AI-Enabled Scams as a Systemic Security Challenge project as a full participant, including ideation, literature reviews, recruitment, conducting interviews and/or focus groups, conducting content/discourse analysis, coding data, memoing, writing, and other research needs as necessary
• Publish op-eds, blog posts, and papers related to ongoing research for academic and non-academic audiences
• Contribute to the culture of the Research Management team, the AI & Democracy initiative, and the broader Data & Society community
• Attend and collaborate with both internal and external researchers on outreach and network activities, including meetings, presentations, webinars, events, and conferences;
• Participate in team activities, including meetings, presentations, webinars, hearings, and conferences, which may require occasional travel

Skills & Qualifications

• Excellent research, writing, and communication skills supported by a strong empirical foundation
• PhD in Communication, Media Studies, Information Studies, Sociology, or similar applicable field; degree must be completed before the starting date.
• Ability to independently conduct high-level qualitative research, including interviews, focus groups, content/discourse analysis, and other research methods
• Experience with study recruitment
• Expertise/interest in financial cultures, scams, generative AI, youth studies, economic sociology, or other topic relevant to the project at hand
• Ability to work independently in a remote environment
• Collaborative and generous intellectual partner
• A strong history of work demonstrating a desire to understand how technology and power shape our sociotechnical society
• Ability to translate research for non-academic audiences, including journalists, policymakers, practitioners, organizers, civil society, and the broader community
• A deep commitment to social change and the practical applications of research for practice, design, and governance of new technologies
• Must be able to travel for conferences, workshops, or team meetings during the appointment

Core Competencies

• Strong analytical thinking; ability to conceptualize, develop, and conduct a research project.
• Superior written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to collaborate with other researchers internally and externally to develop and execute new research projects.

Organizational Values and Participation

• Commitment to advancing organizational diversity, equity, and inclusion;
• Actively participate in programs and professional development opportunities that work to ensure we continue our commitment to being an anti-racist and anti-discrimination organization;
• To attend, where able, whole-organization activities such as staff meetings, retreats, town halls, listening sessions, workshops, training, and social events; and
• To participate, where able and appropriate, in contributing to the culture of D&S by participating in working groups and committees (e.g. DEIA Working Group).

To Apply, please submit the following items by July 15, 2026:

• A cover letter explaining your interest in this role and the research topic, and why you would be a good fit for this position.
• An academic CV is required.
• The names, affiliations, and contact information for three (3) references. Please include the name, title, email addresses, and phone numbers for each reference. Only candidates who reach the final round of interviews may have their references contacted.
• A 2-page research statement describing your research accomplishments, intellectual interests, and future trajectory of your work. One page should describe an independent research project you wish to pursue that is distinct from your dissertation which, ideally, you would work on at D&S.
• Two writing samples; one should be targeted to an academic audience (journal article, dissertation chapter, etc.), and the other should illustrate your ability to communicate complex research findings to a broad audience (blog or newsletter post, op-ed, policy brief, or similar). This should include at least one publication where you are either a lead or contributing author writing about original empirical research.