Feeding Frenzy for AI Engineers Gets More Intense

In December, Bloomberg reported that desperate demand for software engineers who know how to build artificial intelligence systems turned a previously low-key academic event "into a recruiting frenzy more akin to the National Football League's draft day." Meanwhile, the Tencent Research Institute released a report indicating that there are currently only 300,000 AI researchers and practitioners worldwide, but the demand is for millions. Earlier this month, Element AI set out to assess the AI talent pool. Based on LinkedIn postings, conference proceedings, and other data, the firm concluded that there are 22,000 PhD-educated researchers in the entire world who are capable of working in AI research and applications--but only 3,074 candidates currently looking for work. And this week, job search firm Indeed weighed in, reporting that demand for engineers with AI expertise has grown consistently over the past year and a half, and more than doubled over the past three years, however, job seeker interest in these positions has leveled off.