[Air-L] Open position: Postdoc on AI in welfare

[Rachel Humphris]

Dear colleagues,

Please see the call for applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate position on the ERC-funded project Digital Welfare Borders (DigiWeB): The Effects of Artificial Intelligence in Migrants' Access to Welfare, led by Prof Rachel Humphris at Queen Mary University of London. This opportunity is for a social science researcher who will conduct long-term fieldwork in the Netherlands. Fluency in Dutch is required. The post is full-time for 2.5 years. The start date is flexible but cannot begin earlier than October 2026 or later than January 2027.

DigiWeB is an interdisciplinary project examining how artificial intelligence (specifically predictive analytics) is transforming the relationship between welfare systems and migration governance. As governments increasingly use AI to make decisions about welfare eligibility and fraud detection, these technologies are reshaping how migrants access social rights and services and may create new forms of 'digital borders' within welfare states.

The project combines data science and social science approaches to investigate how welfare algorithms function, how they are implemented by street-level bureaucrats such as social workers, and how they impact migrants' experiences of welfare systems. The research involves comparative work across the UK, the Netherlands, and Sweden.

Further details about the position and application process can be found here:
https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQR499/postdoctoral-research-associate

Potential applicants who have questions about the role are welcome to contact Prof Rachel Humphris directly (r.humphris at qmul.ac.uk<mailto:r.humphris at qmul.ac.uk>)

Best wishes and many thanks,
Rachel


Professor Rachel Humphris (she/her)
Department of Politics and International Relations
Director, Centre for the Study of Migration
Queen Mary University of London

New Book: Making Sanctuary Cities: Migration, Citizenship and Urban Governance<https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=36909>  Stanford University Press. Discount of 20% with order code FSS25<https://www.combinedacademic.co.uk/9781503642393/making-sanctuary-cities/>.
New Special Issue: Digital technologies and migration: behind, beyond and around the black box.<https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369183X.2025.2513153#abstract>
New Article: Digital internal bordering: surveillance, data-sharing, and the fate of sanctuary cities<https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369183X.2025.2513166#abstract>.
New Project: Digital Welfare Borders (DigiWeB): The effects of Artificial Intelligence in Migrants' Access to Welfare ERC Starting Grant (2026 - 2031)