Postdoc in Bio-Inspired Artificial Intelligence [M/F]

Organisation/Company: CNRS

Department: Centre de recherche Cerveau et Cognition

Research Field: Biological sciences, Computer science, Mathematics

Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country: France

Application Deadline: 7 Apr 2025 - 23:59 (UTC)

Type of Contract: Temporary

Job Status: Full-time

Hours Per Week: 35

Offer Starting Date: 15 Sep 2025

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

The candidate will develop an original research program in bio-inspired artificial intelligence and deep learning. The interdisciplinary GLOW project is part of an advanced ERC grant to explore new brain-inspired cognitive architectures for more robust, flexible and frugal cognition. It is based on the cognitive theory of the global workspace: a large-scale system integrating and distributing information between specialized modules (perception, language, decision, action), to give rise to more advanced forms of cognition. The project will directly implement the global workspace in deep learning models of increasing complexity, and evaluate their correspondence with brain networks. It will provide an explicit assessment of this fundamental neurocognitive theory and push the limits of current systems towards a new generation of AI.

We aim to take inspiration from neuroscience and cognitive theories to build deep neural network models of cognition, capable of integrating or "grounding" information across sensory and linguistic modalities, and of displaying flexible cognitive behavior. We will also use advanced AI models to improve the decoding and understanding of brain activity. The candidate will participate in the design, programming and evaluation of various neural network architectures. He/she will need to be familiar with the relevant scientific literature in cognitive neuroscience and AI, and stay up to date with the latest developments in these fields. Other activities include:

1. actively participate in laboratory activities
2. write scientific manuscripts
3. present results at conferences
4. take part in public events

The successful candidate will join the Centre de Recherche de Cerveau et Cognition (CerCo) in a dynamic research institute in Toulouse, a thriving city in the south of France. The CerCo is a research center created by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the Université Paul Sabatier, with over 30 researchers and around 40 PhD and post-doctoral students. The candidate will join the NeuroAI team, with a strong focus on computational neuroscience and artificial intelligence. The team has access to various experimental facilities, such as EEG, TMS and fMRI, as well as computing resources (local clusters and GPUs). We work in close collaboration with researchers at the ANITI Institute (Artificial and Natural Intelligence Toulouse Institute) on robotics, linguistics, computer vision, etc.

Minimum Requirements

1. Candidates must hold a PhD in Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Deep learning, computational neuroscience, or a similar field.
2. A keen interest in cognitive neuroscience.
3. Ability to work independently, developing ideas and interests within the framework of the project.
4. Excellent computer skills, particularly in programming (e.g. MATLAB, Python).
5. Experience with one or more deep learning frameworks: PyTorch, TensorFlow, Keras, Jax…
6. Fluency in spoken and written English.
7. No knowledge of French is required.