AI a boon to the job market

AI expanding the job market instead of the commonly held belief that it will be shrinking it.

Listening to the birdsong is my escape from the cacophony of human madness. However, what swells the experience is the ability to identify the bird with the help of AI and ornithologists. In those moments, I feel overwhelmed with a sense of pride in contributing to the ecology through technology. AI researchers are making breakthroughs and deliberating in more than one way to solve everyday problems. Numerous organizations have started incorporating AI, and the impact on every human being is being felt in some way or the other. The need for AI research scientists cannot be hyperbolized in this environment. They play a very important role in acquiring, conducting and analyzing data and deep learning to summarize and offer solutions to complex problems. With artificial intelligence introduced in many facets of our lives, we will begin to witness its cogency and value within the next decade. Hence it would not be amateur to say there is a dire need for good AI research scientists, and the demand is growing. People with advanced computer degrees, mathematics or computer analytics, knowledge of computer languages, machine learning, deep learning, and robotics are instrumental in making smart communities, predicting changes, saving lives, and creating robust economies. Perhaps I owe it to an AI Research scientist who harnessed the fervor of birds by saving thousands of fantastical birdsongs and identifying them by their call.

A young lad in his twenties, the newest AI engineer on the floor of a tech startup- sharp and bright, headbanging to some garbled music in his earpods, while his dexterous fingers tapped on the keypad at a lightning speed. He has a degree in Computer Information Science, extremely fluent in software development, machine learning, and robotics, but a little chat with his team leader caught my attention. It was brought to my attention that he was extremely proficient in building AI models from scratch while analyzing and evolving data science models. He had trained the systems and had built an automated data transformation infrastructure. He was a team player with other AI engineers and the robotics team and exhibited extreme passion in transforming machine learning models into application interfaces to implement the APIs. His exuberance was promising and it left a smile on my face because this new generation of AI enthusiasts would enable us to effectuate the changes we are promising to bring. An AI engineer uses deep learning data and determines the patterns to improve accuracies to closest precision. In Healthcare, procedures like laparoscopic surgery analysis have been a boon to assist surgeons in real-time. AI is currently being used to analyze, and detect serious diseases like cancer. Similarly, cyber security, supply chain management, construction, transportation, education, and entertainment are embracing these newer technologies like never before.

Artificial intelligence has been marked as one of the growing industries with an influx of huge career openings, Machine Learning Engineer (344%), Robotics Engineer (128%), Computer Vision Engineer (116%), and Data Scientist (78%) have seen a surge from the year 2015-19 (source Indeed).

There is innumerous growth as a computer vision engineer in large established businesses or start-ups and the demand is growing more than ever. As an explanation to a layman, a computer vision engineer connects machine learning to artificial intelligence using software to handle the process and analyze large data through visuals to make automated predictive decisions. A computer vision engineer plays a key role in comprehending and translating messages from visuals. Needless to say, there already is a lacuna between the number of vacancies and candidates and AI is a skill demand that needs to be filled.

It is predicted through a study by EY Global, and the National Association of Software and Services Company that in the years forthcoming the workforce will be engaged in entirely new jobs most of which will demand  AI and machine learning skill sets. In the NITI Aayog’s paper on AI for All a highlight that caught my attention read, ‘In the IT-BPM sector, traditional software developer roles are set to transition to roles such as computer vision engineers, robotic process automation (RPA) engineers and cloud architects, among others.’ A fact that has been acknowledged globally with newer policies being incorporated acknowledging the role of AI as a technology that is driving gargantuan societal and market change. It is rather heartening to see the growth of STEM graduates in India each year which showcases the talent pool who are capable of developing an advanced AI research and development meshwork.

An article I had read recently stated that AI could be used in the judicial system that makes decisions transparent and faster while minimizing any scope of error based on the biases of advocates and judges. As per my reflections, I foresee a smart plan that would not just ease the workload of judges but also the cloud computing, neural networks, and AI algorithms that could be used to help litigants and the judicial system. AI tools could help enforce laws and promote pliability, accuracy, and efficiency.

The change that we have always dreamt of is finally here, where AI and machine learning play an indispensable role in bringing that dream to fruition. It is a real responsibility as technology innovators to strengthen the backbone of such a change. While it was once feared that AI would take away all our jobs, the present is however different, AI on the contrary is creating jobs. There is tremendous progress in the AI industry with engineers evolving with new skill sets. Each one of us who create and those who embrace AI as a part of our lives are flag bearers of the future. The sun is rising and the bugles are being blown for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

By Saket Dandotia, Co-Founder and COO at Toch.ai and Shyam Vyas, VP Engineering at Toch.ai