Applications are now open for a Postdoctoral Research Opportunity to join the Global LLM Values Benchmarking Working Group, a major interdisciplinary initiative in which CCPP is participating, supported by the Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs. This position is part of the previously announced Buffett-supported grant advancing global benchmarks for evaluating large language models (LLMs) and their alignment with democratic values.
The postdoctoral fellow will play a central role in a collaborative, international research effort examining how LLMs perform across diverse normative frameworks—such as democracy, governance, human rights, and civic values—and how these systems vary across linguistic, cultural, and political contexts.
About the Project
The Global LLM Values Benchmarking Working Group brings together scholars from communication, political science, law, computer science, and ethics to develop transparent, comparative tools for assessing how AI systems encode, reproduce, or diverge from widely held public-interest values. The project emphasizes:
- Cross-national and cross-cultural benchmarking of LLM outputs
- Normative dimensions of democracy, governance, and public accountability
- Methodological innovation in evaluating AI systems at scale
- Translating research findings into policy-relevant and public-facing insights
This work aligns closely with the Center for Communication & Public Policy’s broader research agenda on democratic governance and information integrity, and contributes to Northwestern’s leadership in responsible AI scholarship.
Position Highlights
- Full-time postdoctoral appointment based at Northwestern University
- Active participation in an interdisciplinary, global research network
- Opportunities to co-author academic publications and policy-facing outputs
- Engagement with funders, policymakers, and international partners
- Mentorship and professional development for academic and applied career paths
Who Should Apply
The position is ideal for recent PhDs with strong training in:
- Political communication, political science, sociology, or related social sciences
- Highly proficient in computational social science, AI evaluation, and data science
- Democratic theory, governance, ethics, or comparative politics
How to Apply
Full details about the position, eligibility, application materials, and deadlines are available on Northwestern’s official postdoctoral opportunities page for this position.
We encourage applications from scholars with diverse backgrounds and perspectives who are excited to contribute to cutting-edge research at the intersection of AI, values, and democratic governance.