I am currently recruiting 1-2 PhD students to start next year (fall 2026).
You will need to apply for the PhD Programme in Advanced Machine Learning. I am also recruiting a joint student with Moritz Hardt via the Cambridge-Tuebingen programme.
Important links and deadlines:
You must apply for a PhD in Engineering and list me in your application. The deadline, including submitted reference letters, is 2 December 2025.
Students applying for the Cambridge-Tuebingen programme must apply via the portal and send a copy of their application to camtue@is.mpg.de by 17 November 2025.
Gates Funding Deadline (US citizens): The deadline for the Gates Cambridge Scholarship for students who are US citizens is 15 October 2025.
Research Focus
I am open to a range of topics within AI for good. Most of my work is set within AI for social good, and particularly in the context of high-stakes decision-making.
I am particularly interested in students keen to explore topics such as:
Using RL and causal inference to improve the evaluation and auditing of AI systems in deployment.
Developing technical methods to ensure effective human-AI cooperation.
Evaluation and auditing of AI assistants in high-stakes settings.
Detection and mitigation of bias in AI and algorithmic tools deployed in life-changing settings.
Interested students are welcome to apply directly and mention my name in the application.
I supervise MPhil projects via MLMI (Engineering) and ADA (CFI), and MSt projects for the AI Ethics & Society program. Occasionally, when there is a strong alignment with my research interests, I can take students from other programs as well.