Associate or Full Professor in Artificial Intelligence, Entertainment, and Human Communication

Faculty Position in Artificial Intelligence, Entertainment, and Human Communication

Artificial intelligence is transforming every aspect of the entertainment ecosystem-from content creation, production, and distribution to audience engagement, accessibility, labor relations, intellectual property, and communication technologies. To engage these developments, the Northwestern School of Communication invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the rank of Associate or Full Professor in Artificial Intelligence, Entertainment, and Human Communication. We seek an innovative scholar, artist, designer, technologist, legal scholar, or interdisciplinary researcher whose work examines the opportunities, challenges, and societal implications of artificial intelligence across creative industries, communication, performance, and human-centered technologies.

We welcome applicants whose work explores these developments through artistic practice, scholarly inquiry, policy analysis, technological innovation, or industry engagement. The successful candidate will join a vibrant interdisciplinary community exploring how artificial intelligence is reshaping entertainment, media, performance, communication, and society.

Candidates may be working in areas such as:

• Stage, scenic, costume, lighting, projection, and production design using AI-enhanced tools
• Generative AI in theatre, film, television, gaming, music, and immersive experiences
• AI-assisted virtual characters and digital performers
• Human-AI collaboration in artistic creation and performance
• Virtual production, digital environments, and emerging entertainment technologies
• AI-assisted storytelling and audience engagement

• AI applications in sound design, music production, and audio engineering
• Computational approaches to sound analysis and immersive audio
• Machine learning and adaptive sound environments
• Ethical and artistic implications of AI-generated music and sound
• AI voice cloning and digital voice ownership

• Intellectual property, copyright, and licensing of AI-generated content
• Labor, employment, and workforce implications of AI in creative industries
• Entertainment contracts and governance frameworks related to AI
• Ethical, regulatory, and societal implications of AI-enabled creative and communication technologies
• Design, development, and evaluation of human-centered AI systems that support artists, performers, designers, communicators, and audiences
• Role of AI in expanding accessibility, participation, and inclusion within creative and cultural experiences
• Frameworks for responsible, equitable, and transparent AI use in entertainment, media, performance, and communication contexts

• AI systems supporting vocal health for performers
• Machine learning approaches to vocal fatigue analysis
• Voice synthesis, voice preservation technologies, synthetic speech
• Audience perception of synthetic voices
• AI auditory technology for entertainment applications

This position reflects SoC's commitment to advancing research and education at the intersection of AI, creativity, communication, accessibility, and the future of work. This position is 100% in person and located on Northwestern University's Evanston campus in the greater Chicago area.

This is a full-time continuing senior faculty appointment, service of 9 months paid over 12. The hire would be subject to Northwestern's tenure approval process.

The expected base pay range for this position at the rank of Associate is $125,000-$148,000, at the rank of Full Professor it is $225,000-$250,00, competitive based upon experience.

September 1, 2027.

October 16, 2026. Review of applications will begin on October 19, 2026.

• Maintain an active program of research, creative activity, and/or professional practice
• Undergraduate and graduate student instruction
• Development of innovative curricula
• Student mentorship
• Collaboration across disciplines
• Service to the department, school, university, and profession
• Engagement with industry and community partners

• Terminal degree appropriate to the field and demonstrated expertise in artificial intelligence and its application, impact, governance, or creative use. The candidate's appointment may be across one or more departments in the School of Communication with the tenure home determined by the major field of expertise.

• We welcome applications from theatre and performance designers, sound designers, communication scientists, audiologists, speech-language pathologists, media scholars, legal scholars, social scientists, and interdisciplinary researchers whose work bridges technology and human creativity.

• Cover letter describing relevant interests, preparation, and experience; candidates should specifically address how previous experiences…