(image from Stanford University)
Data from Stanford University’s annual AI Index Report shows that demand for artificial intelligence skills among new employees has skyrocketed over the past five years, and it remains a priority for hiring managers in virtually every industry.
By 2023, 1.6% of all jobs in the United States will require AI skills, down slightly from 2% in 2022. The decline comes after several years of growing interest in artificial intelligence and is likely attributed to hiring delays, freezes or layoffs at major tech companies such as Amazon, Deloitte and Capital One in 2023, the report said.
The numbers are still much higher than they were a few years ago, and by 2023, thousands of jobs across every sector will require AI skills.
What do these AI jobs look like? And where exactly are they located?
Generative AI skills, or the ability to build algorithms that produce text, images, or other data when asked, were the most in-demand, with nearly 60% of AI-related jobs requiring these skills. Large language modeling, or building technology that can generate and translate text, was the second most in-demand, with 18% of AI jobs citing a need for these skills.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES IN YOUR INBOX
These skills were followed by knowledge of ChatGPT, prompt engineering or training AI and two other specific machine learning skills.
The industries requiring these skills varied: the information industry came first with 4.63% of jobs, while professional, scientific and technical services came second with 3.33%. The financial and insurance industry followed with 2.94%, and manufacturing came fourth with 2.48%.
In jobs in government administration, education, management, and utilities, 1-2% of job openings asked for AI skills, while in jobs in agriculture, mining, wholesale trade, real estate, transportation, warehousing, retail, and waste management, 0.4-0.85% of job openings asked for AI skills.
While AI jobs are concentrated in certain parts of the country, nearly every U.S. state will have thousands of AI-specific jobs by 2023, the report found.
California — home to Silicon Valley — had 15.3%, or 70,630, of the nation’s AI-related jobs in 2023. It was followed by Texas with 7.9%, or 36,413 jobs. Virginia came in third, with 5.3%, or 24,417, of the nation’s AI jobs.
Based on population size, Washington state had the highest percentage of people in AI jobs, followed by California in second place and New York in third.
Montana, Wyoming and West Virginia were the only states with fewer than 1,000 open positions requiring AI. But due to their population sizes, AI jobs still accounted for 0.75%, 0.95% and 0.46% of all open positions in the state last year, respectively.
While the number of jobs declined from 2022 to 2023, the adoption of AI technologies in business operations did not. In 2017, 20% of companies reported that they had started using AI for at least one function of their job. In 2022, 50% of companies said they had done so, and that number reached 55% in 2023.
For those who have adopted AI tools in their businesses, it makes their employees more productive, the report found. The report said studies have shown that AI tools have enabled workers to complete tasks faster and improved the quality of their work. The research suggested that AI could also be able to upskill workers, the report found.
The report acknowledges that with all the technological advances the AI industry has seen in the past five years, there are still many unknowns. The U.S. is still waiting for federal AI legislation, while states are creating their own regulations and laws.
The Stanford report predicts two futures for the technology’s path: one in which the technology continues to advance and increase productivity, but in which there is the potential for it to be used for “good and bad purposes.” In another future, without proper research and development, the adoption of AI technologies could be limited, researchers say.
“They are stepping in to stimulate the positive side,” the report said of government agencies, “such as funding university R&D and encouraging private investment. Governments are also trying to manage the potential negative sides, such as the impact on employment, concerns about privacy, misinformation and intellectual property rights.”
DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST
