What’s new: China only has about one-fifth as many top artificial intelligence (AI) researchers as the U.S., despite boasting nearly 1 million people qualified to work in AI and related industries, according to recent reports.
Last year, China had 232 of the world’s top AI researchers, or 11.6% of the global total, according to the 2022’s AI 2000 List, which was compiled by Tsinghua University’s AI academic search platform. The U.S. number dominates the list with 1,146 AI researchers, or 57.3% of the global total.
A 2022 report on AI talent in China by the Chinese Academy of Labour and Social Security (CALSS) showed China has a talent pool of around 950,000 people, of which the majority hold a bachelor’s degree and about 0.1% have a doctorate.
The CALSS report also revealed that China’s AI industry was short some 300,000 highly skilled workers, with the shortage particularly severe in the fields of chips, machine learning and natural language processing. The country cannot meet even 40% of the industry’s needs for skilled professionals in these areas, according to the report.
What’s more: In recent years, China has stepped up efforts to train more talent in AI. Between 2019 and 2022, over one-third of the countries’ colleges and universities received approval from the education ministry to establish majors related to AI.
As of August 2021, over 26,000 students were studying AI in bachelor’s or master’s programs in China, with an additional 2,300 students in doctorate programs, according to the CALSS report, which cited data from the Ministry of Education.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editor Leila Hashemi (leilahashemi@caixin.com)
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