Why are artificial intelligence developers becoming a valuable resource in the IT industry?

Google's California office, home to the company's main AI department . Photo The New York Times

Silicon Valley companies are willing to spend huge amounts of money to attract rare specialists. If you  believe the  information of The New York Times, then the last couple of years, artificial intelligence developers have been very popular. It is such a rare resource that organizations are willing to pay big bucks and share shares on the stock exchange to attract employees with even little experience in the field.

Interest in technology computer engineering education

Google, Apple, Uber, Microsoft - these and other giants of Silicon Valley have been recruiting artificial intelligence specialists over the past few years. Some companies need them to  improve smartphone functionality , while others hope to use them to create safe, self-driving cars. And everyone is ready to invest a lot of money, even in not very experienced workers.

A typical AI developer who works for large companies makes between $ 300,000 and $ 500,000 a year. This number includes not only experienced university graduates, but also self-taught ones with a minimum of experience.

Companies often offer a share of shares to famous people in the industry, which is sometimes valued at several million dollars. A prime example is Anthony Lewandowski, who has worked at Google since 2007 and moved to Uber in 2016. During his time at an Internet search engine company, he earned more than $ 120 million.

Anthony Lewandowski. Photo WIred

According to Microsoft managers, the salary for the development of artificial intelligence is constantly growing. There are several reasons for this, the first of which is the competition of automakers with Silicon Valley for some experts in the field of self-driving transport.

Giants like Facebook or Google spend a lot of money on finding specialists in a rare field, because they are sure that only they will solve their problems. Mark Zuckerberg's companies, for example, need artificial intelligence specialists to develop algorithms for searching for offensive content on social networks.

Another reason: artificial intelligence developers are a very rare resource. According to The New York Times, there are only about 10,000 workers in the world who are capable of solving complex problems in the field. Therefore, tech companies are willing to spend a lot of money to attract as many workers as possible.

Lack of staff

Three years ago there was no such need - in 2014, Google invested about $ 650 million in its artificial intelligence laboratory, 50 people worked there. In 2016, the department grew to 400 employees and a budget of $ 138 million in salaries alone. That is, one employee accounts for about 345 thousand dollars a year.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai talks about the AI ​​technology built into the company's gadgets. Photo by Reuters

Companies are not only looking for specialists among young graduates, but also attract experienced scientists from prestigious US universities. Google once offered University of Washington academic Luke Zettlemoyer a salary of $ 180,000 a year to join the company.

This is three times more than he received at an educational institution. Google and Facebook have also  launched  training programs for aspiring artificial intelligence developers. This is how companies "grow" new and loyal employees.

The resources of the United States as a supplier of specialists are limited, so the giants of Silicon Valley are looking for promising workers around the world. The New York Times learned that companies have a strong interest in China and France, but the country of origin plays a minor role. Now only skills are valued in workers, even the most minimal ones.