Tactical Tech and “The political economy of military general-purpose AI (GPAI) systems” Project are looking for research consultants with academic, technical and/or policy experience relating to AI systems, to conduct desk research on developments in military GPAI and GPAI military use cases. This is a paid collaboration.
- Deadline: 17:00 BST / 18:00 CEST on 15 August 2025.
- Please note that we can only respond to applications we would like to follow up on. We aim to inform shortlisted applicants by 31 August 2025.
Project Background
The increasing integration of General-Purpose Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) models into the military industrial complex has great potential for widespread harm. This represents a particularly urgent topic within broader conversations around AI and safeguarding society. It is important to extend foresight over the pressing issues posed by this development, and build on our regulatory foundations to effectively address them.
Militaries represent a special type of client for GPAI providers. They can potentially provide stable, long-term partnerships, and other advantages like privileged access to unique datasets (that can be integrated into secondary processes of proprietary AI systems) and infrastructures such as data centres and ground stations (sometimes located on occupied territories). GPAI providers entering into contracts with militaries to develop and maintain large-scale AI systems have the potential to become integrated into compulsory government infrastructures (wherein citizens become their mandatory audiences), and whose influence can extend across borders and even into outer space. They gain access to varied opportunities, such as tapping into government funds for prototyping technologies, or testing technologies with less stringent ethical standards—such as trialling technologies in wartime contexts or during emergency situations where loopholes for ethical standards can be invoked. A range of public-private partnerships likewise can exist where contracts and technical decisions arising from AI providers can ultimately influence military actions.
Our project, entitled ‘The political economy of military general-purpose AI (GPAI) systems’, seeks to investigate the business models through which militaries contract with GPAI providers, and the resulting potentials for harm. This project is being led by Dr Yung Au and Srujana Katta, and is being conducted in collaboration with Tactical Tech. It is funded by a grant from the Open Society Foundations.
We are looking for research consultants to conduct desk research on developments in military GPAI and GPAI military use cases, starting with the the earliest examples of GPAI development such as Open AI’s GPT series (public release 2018) and Google’s BERT (public release 2018) to now (2018 to 2025). In collaboration with project team members, the research consultant(s) will be expected to co-develop the following outputs, and provide additional research support as needed:
- A Short Primer to General-Purpose AI Systems
- A Database of Developments in Military GPAI
- A Database of GPAI Military Use Cases
- Contribution to Project’s Annotated Reading List
Further guidance on these outputs will be provided to the research consultant(s) before work commences.
Project Duration and Fees
The research consultancy engagement will involve a minimum of 128 hours, to be completed in September and October 2025. The consultant will be compensated at an hourly rate that is competitive for the NGO sector, with consultants responsible for managing their own tax obligations.
Who Should Apply
We are looking for research consultants who:
- Have strong research, activist, policy, and/or technical expertise relating to AI systems, data infrastructures, technology supply chains and governance, particularly as they relate to military applications;
- Are experienced desk researchers and strong writers capable of producing clear, concise, and well-structured writing;
- Are advanced or fluent in spoken and written English, as the content will be produced in English;
- Are self-motivated individuals comfortable working collaboratively, and who have the ability to deliver on time under tight deadlines and to respond to feedback in a timely manner.
Candidates from minority backgrounds and global majority contexts are encouraged to apply. Consultants of mixed expertise (e.g. lived experience, technical expertise, policy or legal expertise, campaign expertise) will be sought.
What We Offer
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This is a paid consultancy. Fees will depend on the duration of the consultancy, which will be for a minimum of 128 hours, to be completed in September and October 2025.
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Selected consultants will be contracted as short-term consultants and become a part of the project team, to collaborate with us on the project described in the “Details” section above.
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Content co-developed by the project team will be published listing all contributors as co-authors, where the author order for each published output will be determined collaboratively. Where possible, outputs will be published under a Creative Commons license CC BY-SA 4.0, and will be freely available to audiences worldwide.
How To Apply
Please send the following application materials to - srujana.katta@oii.ox.ac.uk - before 17:00 BST / 18:00 CEST on 15 August 2025:
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A 1-2 page CV
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A cover letter answering the following questions:
- A - Please briefly describe your relevant experience and expertise in relation to the project topics, including your geographical areas of focus.
- B - How many hours of work can you commit to during the months of September and October 2025?
- C - Do you have any accessibility needs or accommodations that we should be aware of?
- D - Is there anything else you would like to share that might be relevant or helpful for this project?
Shortlisted candidates may be invited for an interview towards the end of August 2025.
Contact
You can reach out to us with questions about this call by writing to srujana.katta@oii.ox.ac.uk
About Us
Yung Au is an OTF Senior Fellow at the School of Geography, University of Oxford and a Board Member of the Surveillance in the Majority World Network. Her work examines the supply chain of surveillance and policing technologies.
Srujana Katta is a PhD researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford. Her research interests include digital platforms, AI, and collective action in the technology sector.
Tactical Tech is a creative international NGO with 21 years of experience dedicated to investigating and mitigating the profound impact of technology on our societies. We work with investigators and educators to enable evidence-driven decisions & actions.