Postdoctoral Position in Societal Aspects of Copyright and AI at Lund University, Sweden (2 Years, Full-time)

Lund University (founded in 1666) is recruiting a two-year postdoc in societal aspects of copyright and AI (reference number PA2026/2926). The postdoc is part of the NordForsk research project COPY.AI, co-ordinated by the Norwegian Computing Centre, which investigates in cross-university and cross-disciplinary collaboration the future of intellectual property in the light of current developments within generative AI.

The postdoc will primarily work in the research group for AI and society led by Stefan Larsson at LTH, Lund University's Faculty of Engineering, in Lund. The group focuses on social science-oriented but multidisciplinary issues linked to AI and collaborates across faculties including medicine, law, the social sciences and the humanities. The subject is Technology and Society.

You will explore socio-legal aspects in the intersection of copyright and AI-model training, arrange workshops with legal and technical expertise on authorship, intellectual property and the impact of large language model (LLM) development on law, society and creative markets, and design and co-author sub-studies with the Lund research group and potentially the wider project group. The study can for example focus on:

• how model training on copyrighted content could or should be conceptualised with regard to possible or probable futures, including aspects of compensation;
• what level or type of transparency could be beneficial for AI model training and deployment from an authorship or copyright perspective.

It could, but does not have to, include studies of the Swedish language model SE.LLMA (transparency, opt-out mechanisms, compensation to copyright holders) or analysis of US-oriented model development and connected court cases, such as the Anthropic Class Action Settlement, and their implications for a Nordic and Baltic context.

• Conducting research in the research group connected to the project.
• Arranging workshops, analysing cases and writing scientific papers.
• Some teaching at the department (no more than 20% of working hours).
• Collaboration with industry and wider society.

The position includes the opportunity for three weeks of training in higher education teaching and learning, and may include some travel, primarily related to the Nordic collaboration, as well as international conferences.

Appointment requires a PhD, or an international degree deemed equivalent to a PhD, within the subject of the position; the certificate must be received before the employment decision is made. The advert expressly accepts “an international degree deemed equivalent to a PhD” and sets no nationality restriction. Priority will be given to candidates who graduated no more than three years before the last day for application; under special circumstances the doctorate can have been completed earlier.

• A PhD in a relevant social science discipline, for example sociology of law, science and technology studies, media and communication studies or other interdisciplinary combinations relevant to AI, law and society.
• Very good oral and written proficiency in English.
• Ability to work independently and to collaborate; structured and persistent.
• Experience of research or studies at the intersection of new technologies (for example LLMs) and social or societal concerns.
• Experience of empirical studies, primarily qualitative.
• Basic knowledge of intellectual property and copyright law.

This is a career development position primarily focused on research, and applicants will be assessed mainly on research qualifications and potential, with particular emphasis on research skills within the subject. The criteria are a good ability to develop and conduct high quality research, and teaching skills.

Other qualifications considered: basic understanding of the training of LLMs, experience of teaching in higher education, and experience in arts, music or other creative expressions.

• Full-time, fixed-term employment of 2 years (temporary position), under the agreement on fixed-term employment as a post-doctoral fellow.
• Start: 1 January 2027 or by agreement.
• Salary: monthly salary (the advert does not state an amount).
• Number of positions: 1.
• Location: Lund, Skåne County, Sweden.

Applications must be written in English and submitted through Lund University's recruitment system (Varbi) by 9 November 2026. The application should include:

• a CV;
• a personal letter justifying your interest in the position and how it matches your qualifications;
• a proposal of a potential study plan, inspired by the call, of about 2 pages;
• a degree certificate or equivalent, and any other documents you wish to draw attention to (grade transcripts, details of referees, letters of recommendation).