'SAILS makes me feel well embedded in an AI community'
Leiden University's interdisciplinary research programme SAILS funds young interdisciplinary scientists working at the intersection of AI and other fields. Researcher Matthijs Westera talks about his experiences working within SAILS and the Leiden academic community.
Computational linguist Matthijs Westera is an associate professor and, at the intersection of AI and language, conducts research on the role of questions in communication. His position is funded by the Leiden research programme SAILS.
What did you find attractive about this position when you were looking for a new job?
'That it is content that is right up my alley. My bachelor's and master's were entirely focused on AI. After that, my PhD research focused on linguistics and I did nothing in the computational field. Then I did postdoc research in computational linguistics in Barcelona, during the period when deep learning was on the rise. But in that job, I again missed the humanities, gaining deeper insight into language and people. Then this position came along, whose official title is also "Humanities and AI"; an ideal combination for me.'
In what way does the interdisciplinary nature of SAILS come into play?
'That mainly comes along during the weekly seminars, which focus on the blending of AI with other disciplines. There, you hear what is going on in the wider field of AI, and I think I would not get as much of that without such meetings. In terms of concrete interdisciplinary cooperation: together with Leiden researcher Anne Meuwese, I am researching AI techniques that can be used to make legal government documents accessible to a broad group of researchers. The network ensured that we found each other.'
What else does working at SAILS and Leiden University provide you with?
'You come into contact with researchers you would otherwise be less likely to get to know. For example, Leiden administrative scientist Bram Klievink works at another faculty, but I know him through SAILS. And in turn, he introduced me to his faculty to give a lecture on ChatGPT. The network makes it easy for people to reach me with questions about my field. That is nice. In short, through SAILS, I feel well embedded in an AI community, and I work with a fantastic group of people with a lot of substantive knowledge. Furthermore, as an AI professional, I like to have good computing power at my disposal. Leiden offers an excellent computing infrastructure, with a competent helpdesk that has time.'