PhD Studentship: Human Contact, AI, and the New Digital Inequalities

Closing date: 4 December 2026, 17:00 | Expected start: 1 February 2027 | Duration: 3 years, full-time

Applications are invited for a three-year PhD studentship, funded by The Leverhulme Trust, in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at City St George’s, University of London. The successful candidate will be supervised by Dr Claudia Civai.

The project, Human contact as a costly premium: the consequences of new digital inequalities, investigates what happens when human contact becomes a service that only some people can afford.

As AI increasingly replaces human staff in high-stakes domains such as healthcare and finance, people on lower incomes may be pushed towards AI-mediated services not by preference, but by cost. Across the UK and Italy, this interdisciplinary project combines large-scale surveys, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), and behavioural and physiological measures to investigate whether unequal access to human contact affects people’s satisfaction, sense of agency, and ability to retain important advice.

The successful candidate will play an active role throughout the project. In the first year, they will contribute to a large-scale survey across the UK and Italy, developing skills in experimental design, pre-registration, and advanced statistical modelling. In years two and three, they will work on laboratory studies, leading the collection of fNIRS and behavioural data at research sites in the UK and Italy. Full methodological training and travel expenses will be provided.

The project offers an excellent opportunity to develop interdisciplinary research skills at the intersection of behavioural science, social psychology, and cognitive neuroscience, within collaborations involving London South Bank University and the University of Padua.

Funding and benefits

• A tax-free annual stipend of £23,805 (2026/27 UKRI rate), expected to increase annually in line with UKRI rates.
• Full tuition fees at the UK Home rate (£5,750 per year).
• A dedicated budget for research costs, travel (including conferences), and doctoral training.
• Full training in fNIRS and quantitative research methods.

Important: The studentship covers Home tuition fees only. Applicants classified as international/overseas students may apply but must fund the difference between Home and Overseas tuition fees, currently approximately £21,000 per year.

Candidate profile

Applicants should have a first-class or upper second-class undergraduate degree and/or a Master’s degree in Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Behavioural Economics, Behavioural Science, or a related discipline.

Essential requirements include strong English proficiency, experience with human experimental research, good quantitative and statistical skills, and an interest in human-AI interaction, decision-making, and digital inequality.

Fluency in Italian is desirable but not essential, as is experience with laboratory research, statistical software (e.g. R), neuroimaging, or psychophysiological methods.

How to apply

Apply through the PhD/MPhil Psychology application page at City St George’s:

https://www.citystgeorges.ac.uk/prospective-students/courses/research/psychology

• An up-to-date CV.
• A brief statement of interest explaining their relevant background and motivation for applying.
• Academic transcripts.
• Contact details for two academic referees.

For informal enquiries, please contact Dr Claudia Civai at claudia.civai@citystgeorges.ac.uk

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