[agents] PhD position in Formal Models of Collective Reasoning at IRIT, University of Toulouse, France

[Emiliano Lorini]

PhD position in Formal Models of Collective Reasoning

Institut de Recherche en Informatique de Toulouse (IRIT)

Toulouse University

France

 
The PhD thesis will be carried out as part of the TIRIS project entitled “Caring about Others: AI and Psychology Meet to Model and Automate Collective Reasoning” (CaRe), 
which began in January 2025 and will end in December 2028. The PhD will start in October 2025 and will be funded by a three-year contract, with a gross monthly salary of approximately 2200 €.
 


Description of the research project

The CaRe project focuses on the interdisciplinary study of collective reasoning and its role in decision-making, from the perspectives of artificial intelligence (AI) and psychology. 
Collective reasoning refers to the multi-dimensional reasoning of human or artificial agents, including the ability to consider others’ minds, engage in team-based reasoning, and 
take ethical concerns regarding others’ well-being into account. The main objectives of the project are: (i) to formalize collective reasoning using logic, game theory, and social choice theory; 
(ii) to develop new algorithms that enable artificial conversational agents to reason collectively; and (iii) to evaluate these formal models and algorithms through experiments involving 
both human-human (H-H) and human-machine (H-M) interaction. The CaRe project aims to support the development of ethical and trustworthy AI systems that promote human well-being.


The PhD thesis will focus specifically on the formalization of collective reasoning and the development and implementation of related algorithms in a conversational agent—corresponding to objectives (i) and (ii) of the project. 
The following aspects of collective reasoning will be addressed:

 * 
Reasoning about others’ minds: agents attribute desires, goals, and preferences to others and take them into account when making decisions or choosing actions.
 * 
Group (or team) reasoning: agents consider themselves and others as part of a group or community and act to achieve shared goals.
 * 
Ethical reasoning: agents take ethical norms and values into consideration, focusing on the well-being of others (e.g., fairness, equity, reciprocity) and their expectations (e.g., norms of honesty and promise-keeping).

The PhD will place particular emphasis on formalizing and comparing two types of collective reasoning: one based on sympathy, goal adoption, and group identification ("warm" collective reasoning), 
and another based on explicit ethical values and the maximization of ethical utility ("cold" collective reasoning).
 


Candidate profile

The ideal candidate should have a strong background in mathematics and some programming experience. A Master’s degree in Logic, Computer Science, or Mathematics is required. 
On the theoretical side, familiarity with logic and game theory is expected; on the practical side, experience with Python and functional programming (ideally Haskell) is desirable.
 


PhD supervisor

The thesis will be supervised by Emiliano Lorini, CNRS Senior Researcher at the Institut de Recherche en Informatique de Toulouse (IRIT). More information is available at: https://www.irit.fr/~Emiliano.Lorini/
 


How to apply

Please send the following documents to Emiliano.Lorini at irit.fr 

 * 
A detailed CV
 * 
A motivation letter
 * 
Transcripts of your Bachelor's and Master's degrees

Including samples of research publications and reference letters is encouraged.

APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR FULL CONSIDERATION: July 14, 2025



 
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