6 ways to find AI talent—are you looking in the right places?

AI is on every CIO’s mind. It’s coming down to earth and getting to work. And many corporations are flush with cash from tax reform. They can afford to invest in AI.

But for many, there’s a roadblock: where can they find the talent they need to deploy AI in their organizations?

The fact is, in the short term (and probably in the long term too, if we prepare well), AI is going to create at least as many jobs as it eliminates. Right now, however, the shortage of AI talent is acute.

But enterprises don’t just need computer scientists. They also need AI-savvy functional specialists to work alongside the more technical talent. These subject matter experts, in every field across the enterprise, will need new skills and a new mindset.

These skills and mindset are teachable. But what’s the best way to teach them? And for the many organizations who will need to hire external AI talent, what’s the best way to go about it? AI talent is in demand, so it isn’t cheap.

Here are some tactics that can help:

Universities are a great source for tech talent. College AI courses are booming. For example, enrollment in “Intro to Machine Learning” at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is up 600 percent in the last five years. You can get a head start on hiring by engaging a recruiter at one of the top college AI programs. Want to extend your reach farther? One example is Piazza, a collaboration platform with a portal for recruiters to target specific students. And don’t forget faculty: many AI professors are moonlighting in business. Yann LeCun runs NYU’s Center for Data Science and is also Facebook’s Director of AI Research.

M&A-based “acqui-hires” can pick up AI talent in a group deal—but the price tag is steep. The typical cost of onboarding each Ph.D. through M&A can run in the millions. Most organizations will need a more cost-effective option.

An increasing number of institutes, labs, and think tanks are eager to work with companies on AI.