Continuous validation for policy compliance and policy revision

A policy can capture and express human intentions for the behaviour of (human and software) actors a priori, but without compliance monitoring, it can be difficult to be confident that policy is being followed, or to observe transgressions that may be indicative of unfitness for purpose. Furthermore, validating policy against usage may also be subject to policy or policies, concerning which observations may be collected and how they may be stored and used, depending on the principal. Questions to investigate include how to observe principals’ actions, reasoning about incomplete information, how to construct policy revisions and validate them against past user stories/use cases - perhaps in so doing determining ones that may not longer hold - how to demonstrate compliance with data collection policies and how to determine which policy revisions shall be applied and why.

This project is associated with the UKRI CDT in Accountable, Responsible and Transparent AI (ART-AI), which is looking for its second cohort of at least 10 students to start in September 2020. Further details can be found at: www.bath.ac.uk/centres-for-doctoral-training/ukri-centre-for-doctoral-training-in-accountable-responsible-and-transparent-ai/.

Applicants should hold, or expect to receive, a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree. A master’s level qualification would also be advantageous.Desirable qualities in candidates include intellectual curiosity, a strong background in maths and programming experience.

Informal enquiries should be directed to Dr Julian Padget: [Email Address Removed].

Enquiries about the application process should be sent to [Email Address Removed].

Formal applications should be made via the University of Bath’s online application form: https://samis.bath.ac.uk/urd/sits.urd/run/siw_ipp_lgn.login?process=siw_ipp_app&code1=RDUCM-FP02&code2=0002

Start date: 28 September 2020.