In recent years, due to factors such as breakthroughs in large-scale language modeling and machine learning, as well as dramatic improvements in computing power, companies and organizations around the world are competing Fierce competition to attract AI talent.
China is able to develop many AI talents partly because the country has invested heavily in AI education
Using data from NeurIPS, the largest and most prestigious AI summit of the year that brings together a large number of cutting-edge AI research projects, MacroPolo produced a report to quantify the global balance of Human resources - which is an essential factor for the development of the AI ecosystem. Authoring articles accepted by NeurIPS is an excellent sign that they are among the top 20% of researchers in AI research.
MacroPolo's “Countries with the top 20% of AI researchers” chart shows notable numbers. In 2019, the rate in China was 29%, the US was 20%, Europe was 17% and India was 8%. But by 2022, the rate in China is 47%, while the US is 18%, Europe is 12% and India is 5%. This shows that about half of the top AI researchers come from China.
However, the data also shows a chart of the countries where the top 20% of AI researchers work. In 2019, the rate in the US was 59%, China was 11%, Europe was 10% and Canada was 6%. By 2022, this figure in the US is 42%, China is 28%, Europe is 12% and Canada is 2%.
These charts show that China's domestic AI talent pool is rapidly expanding and demand for its own AI industry is also growing. Sheet New York Times points out that “China is able to develop many AI talents partly because the country has invested heavily in AI education.”
MacroPolo CEO Damian Ma said that since 2018, China has added AI programs in more than 2.000 departments, more than 300 schools, all at top universities. However, many of them pursue AI applications in industry and manufacturing instead of focusing on the general AI breakthrough that dominates the US AI industry.
It is this Chinese AI human resource that has put the US in a difficult problem. While the country tries to prevent espionage from China, it is forced to accept Chinese AI researchers if it does not want to fall behind in the field of AI. As a result, multiple leaks can occur. Most notably, in March 3.2024, a former Google employee from China was prosecuted for stealing trade secrets related to AI and transferring them to a Chinese company.
