Assistant Professor - Public AI and Cultural Institutions

The Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto St. George campus invites applications for a full-time tenure stream faculty position in Public AI and Cultural Institutions. The appointment will be at the rank of Assistant Professor and will commence July 1, 2026.  

The successful candidate will be nominated for a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair. In order to address systemic barriers and increase diversity in the Canada Research Chairs Program and meet government-mandated requirements, selection will be limited to candidates who identify as women and gender minorities, racialized persons/visible minorities, Indigenous Peoples, and/or persons with disabilities. This recruitment process follows the provisions for special programs as described by the Ontario Human Rights Commission. This strategic recruitment is an essential component of the University’s efforts to fulfill the commitments in our institutional Canada Research Chairs Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Action Plan and to address the persistent under-representation of women and gender minorities, racialized persons/visible minorities, Indigenous Peoples, and/or persons with disabilities among our cohort of Chairs. All applicants are required to self-identify as women and gender minorities, racialized persons/visible minorities, Indigenous Peoples, and/or persons with disabilities in their cover letter.   

Tier 2 Chairs are intended for exceptional emerging scholars. Nominees should be within ten years of receiving their PhD or terminal degree in their field. Applicants who are more than 10 years from having earned their highest degree (and where career breaks exist, such as maternity, parental or extended sick leave, clinical training, etc.) may have their eligibility for a Tier 2 chair assessed through the program’s Tier 2 justification process. The nominee’s research area must align with the subject matter eligibility of NSERC. 

Applicants must have a Ph.D. or terminal degree in Information Science, Informatics, Data Science, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Urban Studies, Engineering, Museum or Heritage Studies, or a related discipline at the time of appointment or shortly thereafter.  

We seek applicants who bring an interdisciplinary and critical lens to intervene in global discussions of AI and whose research engages with the design, development, use, and/or evaluation of artificial intelligence within cultural institutions. Research areas can include, but are not limited to: the use of decentralized AI infrastructures within cultural memory activities; federated learning and edge AI for localized knowledge preservation; AI governance and data sovereignty in digital heritage institutions and collections; study and design of recommendation systems and ranking algorithms used in GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) platforms; machine translation and cross-lingual information retrieval for globally distributed cultural artifacts and documents; integration of technologies to preserve and revitalize endangered languages, oral traditions and intangible heritage; use of AI to facilitate storytelling, annotation, or crowdsourced co-curation of public history. Scholars whose work is framed by decolonial, post-colonial, and anti-colonial approaches, social justice values, Indigeneity, accessibility and/or community-first methodologies are particularly encouraged to apply.  

Candidates must provide evidence of research excellence of an internationally competitive calibre, as demonstrated by a record of publications in leading journals or conference proceedings, creative professional activity in the field, a research pipeline that is at high international levels, presentations at significant conferences, accolades or awards, and strong endorsements by referees of high standing. In addition to a strong publication record, we welcome demonstrations of positive research impact, including, for example, community engagement, policy and advocacy, and creative professional activities.  

The successful candidate will be expected to mount an innovative, competitive, and independently funded research program. Successful candidates will be able to demonstrate interdisciplinarity, transdisciplinarity or multidisciplinarity in their research, and collaboration or prior employment with cultural institutions is considered an asset. The successful candidate must provide evidence of readiness as a research supervisor as they will be expected to undertake undergraduate and graduate research supervision and teaching, and to perform standard professional and administrative activities typical of a research-intensive university. 

We seek candidates able to contribute to curricular development and to teach across our diverse professional (BI, MI, MMSt) and research (PhD) programs. Evidence of excellence in teaching is required and will be demonstrated by teaching accomplishments and innovative pedagogical approaches, the teaching dossier submitted as part of the application (with required materials outlined below), as well as strong letters of reference. Other teaching-related activities can include performance as course instructor, experience leading successful workshops or seminars, mentorship, or curricular development in non-university settings, as well as participation in significant conferences or public engagements, awards and accolades. We seek candidates whose research and teaching interests complement and enhance our existing departmental strengths. Applicants are encouraged to review the research and teaching profiles of current faculty members. Please visit our home page: Faculty of Information. 

The successful candidate will undertake undergraduate and graduate teaching responsibilities on the University’s St. George campus. The successful candidate will join a vibrant intellectual community of world-class scholars at Canada’s leading university. The University of Toronto offers a wide range of opportunities for collaborative and interdisciplinary research and teaching, the excitement of working with a highly diverse student population and actively encourages innovative scholarship. The Greater Toronto Area offers amazing cultural and demographic diversity and one of the highest standards of living in the world.  

The University strives to be an equitable and inclusive community, and proactively seeks to increase diversity among its community members. Our values regarding equity and diversity are linked with our unwavering commitment to excellence in the pursuit of our academic mission. 

The University is committed to the principles of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). As such, we strive to make our recruitment, assessment, and selection processes as accessible as possible, and provide accommodations as required for applicants with disabilities. If you require any accommodations at any point during the application and hiring process, please contact uoft.careers@utoronto.ca.  

The Canada Research Chairs Program requires institutions to collect self-identification data from all applicants, following the program’s best practices. As part of your application, you will be asked to complete a brief Diversity Survey. This survey is voluntary. Any information directly related to you is confidential and cannot be accessed by search committees or human resources staff. Results will be aggregated for institutional planning purposes. For more information, please see http://uoft.me/UP.  

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.