<div dir="ltr"><div><div>Dear colleagues,</div><div><br></div><div>With apologies for cross-posting - please share widely</div><div><br></div><div>The Media and Culture Research Unit at the MCM Institute, University of St. Gallen is hiring:</div><div><br></div><div>
<strong>We are seeking two highly motivated PhD
candidates to join an exciting new SNSF-funded research project
investigating the persuasive power of communicative AI (comAI) in the
everyday lives of adolescents and families across Europe. </strong><br><br><strong>The Project</strong><br>Chatbots,
virtual assistants, and AI writing tools are becoming a normal part of
daily life for young people across Europe. Yet we know surprisingly
little about how these technologies actually influence adolescents -
their attitudes, decisions, and relationships - in the context of
everyday family life. This four-year cross-national ethnographic study
investigates the persuasive power of comAI among adolescents aged 13–18
and their families across Switzerland, Germany, France, and Italy. It
examines AI influence along three dimensions: the interpersonal
dimension, exploring how young people perceive AI as a social actor and
navigate questions of agency and relationship; the social and cultural
dimension, focusing on how families respond to AI-generated
disinformation, bias, and errors; and the technical dimension, examining
how families understand emotional design, data profiling, and
manipulative by-design features in comAI. Findings will inform AI
regulation and digital literacy programmes across Europe.<br><br><strong>The DOK Programme</strong><br>Successful
candidates will be enrolled in the PhD Programme in Organisation
Studies and Cultural Theory (DOK) at the University of St. Gallen. The
DOK programme integrates the university's core and contextual subjects
in an interdisciplinary form of doctoral studies, bringing together
organisational research and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences
(SHSS). The programme is particularly suited to research that engages
with complex social, cultural, and technological questions from multiple
disciplinary perspectives, making it an ideal home for this project.<br><br><strong>What We Offer</strong><ul><li>A fully funded PhD position (100%) for four years supervised by Prof. Veronica Barassi, starting in September 2026.</li><li>Enrolment in the DOK programme at the University of St. Gallen, one of Europe's leading universities.</li><li>Integration
into the Media & Culture research unit (=mcm3) at the Institute of
Media and Communications Management Institute, a dynamic, international,
and interdisciplinary research team. See more information about us
here:
<a href="https://mcm.unisg.ch/en/das-institut/lehrstuehle-und-forschungsbereiche/mcm3/" target="_blank">https://mcm.unisg.ch/en/das-institut/lehrstuehle-und-forschungsbereiche/mcm3/</a>.</li><li>Access to a growing network of researchers through the PersuasiveAI Futures Network</li></ul><strong>Your Profile</strong><ul><li>Master's degree in communication sciences, social sciences, political sciences, or a related field.</li><li>Proficiency in English and fluency in at least one or two of the project languages (German, French, or Italian) is mandatory.</li><li>Willingness and ability to spend extended periods conducting fieldwork in one of the following cities: Berlin, Paris, or Milan.</li><li>Knowledge of qualitative and ethnographic research methodologies is a strong advantage.</li><li>Curiosity, intellectual independence, and a genuine interest in the social impacts of comAI.</li></ul><strong>How to Apply: </strong><br>Application
must be submitted by 4 May. In person interviews will be held by 15
June, with decisions communicated by the end of that month.</div><div><br><strong>Please send along: </strong><ul><li>A
cover letter explaining who you are, your background, and why you are
interested in the PhD position, including your level of language
knowledge and your connection to one of the ethnographic areas</li><li>A one-page document outlining your potential PhD project</li><li>Your CV</li><li>Proof of Degrees</li><li>A writing sample (MA thesis, article, etc.), if available but not mandatory</li></ul><div><b>APPLICATION LINK: <a href="https://jobs.unisg.ch/offene-stellen/two-fully-funded-phd-positions-m-w-d/53f14753-3d80-4877-acfe-1acc0b62e409" target="_blank">https://jobs.unisg.ch/offene-stellen/two-fully-funded-phd-positions-m-w-d/53f14753-3d80-4877-acfe-1acc0b62e409 </a></b></div><div><br></div><div>For information about the job opening or general questions, please contact <a href="mailto:philip.disalvo@unisg.ch?subject=" target="_blank">philip.disalvo@unisg.ch</a> (applications must be submitted through the application link, applications coming via email won't be considered).<font color="#888888"></font></div></div><br></div><div>Best,</div><br><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><b>Philip Di Salvo, PhD<br></b></div><div dir="ltr"><div><a href="https://mcm.unisg.ch/en/personenverzeichnis/9479a240-e20b-4b1e-aaa4-249f2ca42eab" target="_blank">Researcher</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/philipdisalvo" target="_blank">journalist</a></div><div>Zürich<br></div></div></div></div></div></div>