Serious need to bridge huge talent deficit in the field of AI: MoS IT

NEW DELHI — There is a serious need for the tech industry and academic institutions to work along with the governments globally in shaping the future pipeline of talent for artificial intelligence (AI)-related jobs, Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, said here on Wednesday.

Addressing a fireside chat session on the second day of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) summit in the capital, the minister said that nurturing talent is something that governments can help but certainly cannot play a lead role, and industry and the academicians have to work together for the jobs of the future.

“It is clear that there is going to be a huge talent deficit in the field of AI. There is an urgent need for our academic institutions, whether in the UK, Japan or India, to really understand this and start delivering the talent that this AI ecosystem will require,” Chandrasekhar told the gathering.

The potential economic value from AI tools could be as high as $26 trillion going forward, according to McKinsey data.

“Unfortunately, a major limiting factor in AI reaching its full business potential is the availability of individuals with the right skills and capabilities to continue innovating AI,” according to McKinsey.

According to the minister, the AI industry needs cutting-edge talent, architects and designers of large-language models (LLMs).

“As we go down this AI road, there’ll be more and more complexities and capabilities that we need talent for. So I think it is almost central to this whole strategy that we are evolving as a group of nations that we have a talent pool that is out there building these capabilities for,” said Chandrasekhar.

To create such a talent pool, the academy networks of various countries and industries have to work together.

“Align the coursework, align the curriculum and educate for future-ready jobs with future-ready skills rather than look back and extrapolate,” the minister noted.

There are 45,000 Artificial Intelligence (AI) job openings in India, with data scientists and Machine Learning (ML) engineers being among the most sought-after careers, according to a latest report by TeamLease Digital, a tech staffing firm.

Nasscom said recently that India currently ranks first in terms of AI skill penetration and AI talent concentration, the AI skill shortage is now being felt across the spectrum.

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