Sony, Hitachi hitting harder in fight for AI talent- Nikkei Asian Review

Japan's electronics makers are beefing up efforts to recruit hard-to-find artificial intelligence experts -- a critical resource as connected technologies and services loom large on the industry's path forward. Growth in the number of college graduates with AI expertise -- typically math whizzes or engineers with additional knowledge of programming languages and data analysis -- has failed to keep pace with rising demand for such talent. The global supply is only in the tens of thousands, pitting companies expanding AI research operations against each other in the search for top recruits. Sony will next spring begin bulking up its ranks of such new graduates with a specialized recruiting framework for research and development in AI and machine learning. No limit will be set on the number of staff that can be hired, unlike under the company's normal recruiting system.