What is AI human resources?

1. What are AI human resources? background that attracts attention

In recent years, the term “AI human resources” has come to be heard a lot. This is against the backdrop of advances in AI technology that have made it widely applicable to industry and business.

1-1.What are AI human resources?

AI human resources generally have deep knowledge of machine learning, deep learning, data science, etc., and use those technologies to build and operate AI systems and improve technology. refers to
In recent years, research on machine learning and deep learning has progressed, and AI technology is attracting attention in various fields, and companies are expected to utilize data and promote DX.
Given such a social background, it is expected that the value of AI human resources will increase further in the future.

1-2.Advancement of AI technology

The concept of AI (artificial intelligence) itself has been studied since it was proposed by John McCarthy at the Dartmouth Conference in 1956. However, after the 1st AI boom in the 1960s and the 2nd AI boom in the 1980s, we experienced a long winter, and it was quite difficult to apply it to industry and business.

A breakthrough in this was the technology of deep learning, which appeared in the early 2000s. The 2012 ILSVRC (image recognition accuracy competition) brought deep learning into the spotlight. A team led by Jeffrey Hinton of the University of Toronto won by an overwhelming margin using deep learning. Since then, the evolution has been remarkable, and the era will enter the third AI boom.

1-3. The third AI boom

We are currently living in the era of the 3rd AI boom. With the spread of the Internet and smartphones, etc., the accumulation of big data has progressed, and deep learning can be applied in various situations. In addition to image recognition, speech recognition and natural language processing are fields in which deep learning excels, and are being used in our daily lives in the form of dramatically improving the accuracy of chatbots and machine translation tools. Companies are creating various AI services every year and are promoting the introduction of AI into existing services and operations.
In addition, the singularity (technical singularity) where the ability of AI (artificial intelligence) exceeds that of humans is being talked about, and the 2045 theory by Mr. Ray Kurzweil has become famous.

2. AI human resources indispensable for promoting DX

DX (Digital Transformation) and AI are inextricably linked. Let’s take a look at each.

2-1.What is DX?

DX is an abbreviation for digital transformation, which means transforming a company’s business model through the use of digital technology. A term that is often confused is digitization. Digitization is the transition to digital from what was previously non-digital, and DX is to find new value from the data (information) obtained as a result of the transition to digital, and connect it to corporate business reform. I can say

2-2.Relationship between DX and AI human resources

He said that it is important to find new value from data in order to promote DX. AI is the technology that turns data into value. Just having data does not make it useful. It plays a central role in transforming data into information that can be used in specific situations, such as customer purchasing behavior, manufacturing line anomaly detection, and optimal responses to customer center inquiries, and leading to future reforms. are AI human resources. In fact, the “AI White Paper” published annually by the Information-technology Promotion Agency (IPA) has been renamed to “DX White Paper” from 2021.

2-3. Shortage of AI human resources

According to the ” Survey on the Supply and Demand of IT Human Resources ” announced by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in April 2019, there will be a shortage of approximately 124,000 AI human resources in 2030 (in the average scenario). According to the questionnaire conducted for the survey, although companies showed their intention to actively develop AI human resources, it is estimated that the supply of 120,000 people will be limited to the demand for 243,000 people.
The same survey also estimates that there will be a shortage of approximately 450,000 IT personnel in 2030 (in the medium scenario).

2-4. Annual income of AI human resources

According to the materials of the “ 1st Study Group on Human Resources Policy in the Digital Age (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, February 2021) ”, high remuneration is offered even in Japan in line with the remuneration level of overseas AI and data science human resources. It is said that there is an example of doing so, and NEC and DeNA are taken up as examples of offering more than 10 million yen even for new graduates.
In addition, it is stated that Fujitsu, NTT Docomo, NTT DATA, NTT Communications, etc. are offering annual salaries of about 30 million to 40 million yen for AI and data science human resources.

3. Types of AI human resources, not only science but also liberal arts occupations

When you hear AI human resources, you may imagine it as a science-related occupation, but that is not necessarily the case. In the above-mentioned “Survey on the supply and demand of IT human resources”, it is said that some AI human resources belong to business departments. We will explain the types of AI human resources based on the types of “AI White Paper 2020” * (Incorporated Administrative Agency Information-technology Promotion Agency).
*P310 Fig. 3-4-27

3-1.Business and management layer with an understanding of AI

It is very important for management to have an understanding of AI. There are many cases in which top management is a big force in companies that have successfully introduced AI or are promoting DX. In addition, in a survey conducted by Skill Up AI , the top requests for “DX promotion vision” and “top leadership” were the elements necessary for DX success.

3-2.AI business planning that can plan products and services using AI

An AI planner is a person who can plan AI products and services by combining knowledge about AI and business knowledge. In many cases, I belong to a vendor company and plan new AI products that have not existed in the world and AI services that solve the problems of many companies.

3-3. AI researchers who can develop advanced AI algorithms and write academic papers

We conduct research to improve the processing speed and accuracy of AI, and develop algorithms that can be used in social implementation based on research. There are many people who belong not only to universities and research institutes but also to companies.

3-4.AI developers who can implement AI-based software and systems

AI engineer is a position that actually develops AI used for products and services. In addition to our knowledge of AI, we will incorporate AI into software and systems based on the behavior of users who use products and services and the business practices of the industry.

3-5.Employees who can analyze data with AI tools and apply it to their own business

People who have basic knowledge of AI as AI users and can utilize AI tools in their own business. It is necessary to understand data analysis methods and the characteristics of each AI model, use them appropriately according to the situation, and evaluate the output results of AI tools. It is desirable to have basic knowledge of data science.

3-6. Employees who have on-site knowledge and basic AI knowledge and can promote the introduction of AI into their company

It is a job called AI planner, and this belongs to a user-side company. You need the ability to analyze your company’s challenges and possibilities, determine where and what kind of AI should be introduced to grow the company, and the ability to manage AI introduction projects.

4. Knowledge required to become an AI human resource

In order to become an AI human resource, knowledge that spans several fields is required. Skill Up AI summarizes the path to becoming an AI human resource as a course map, but below we will extract and explain the important points.

4-1. Digital literacy

The Digital Literacy Council defines “Di-Lite” as common literacy in the digital age that all business people should have. “Di-Lite” includes the IT/software area, mathematics/data science area, and artificial intelligence (AI)/deep learning area.

4-2.Programming

Since Python is mainly used in AI, we recommend that you start by learning Python first. Skill Up AI is offering the “ Introduction to Python for Machine Learning ” free of charge until the end of December 2022 as a DX step course for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry .

4-3. Data management, data science, data engineering

AI is used to efficiently process big data obtained through digitization and find new insights. Learn about data management, data science, and data engineering as a person who handles data.

4-4.Machine learning/deep learning

AI has a wide range of meanings, but what is currently called AI is machine learning, especially deep learning. After learning Python and data management, learn machine learning and deep learning.

4-5.Domain knowledge for each business

There is value only after AI development and AI introduction that lead to business results. In order to do that, you have to know a lot about the industry you belong to and the industry you serve.

For those aiming to become AI human resources, the following article provides a detailed explanation of the AI ​​learning roadmap that connects beginners to experts and the learning content according to the purpose. Please read it together.
Teaching AI learning methods: Optimal learning procedures for each target person taught by AI education professionals

5. How to recruit and train active AI human resources

So far, we have looked at the background of the demand for AI human resources and the necessary knowledge. How should we recruit and develop such personnel within the organization? ” AI training for new graduates is the key to training AI human resources and in-house training “, so please take a look at it.