Advertisement
Artificial intelligence
TechPolicy

A magnet for overseas talent, US might lose AI race if restrictive immigration policies remain, says report

  • Most American workers in AI-related jobs and students in AI-related graduate programmes are not originally from the US
  • One estimate finds there are roughly 300,000 artificial intelligence researchers and practitioners worldwide, with market demand for millions

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
To address the global talent shortage, a number of countries have launched and expanded work visa programs to attract AI tech talent. Photo: Shutterstock
Minghe Huin Beijing
The US is at risk of losing its leadership in artificial intelligence as tighter immigration policies and efforts by rivals to attract talent chip away at the foreign nationals who contribute to most of the AI development in the country, according to a new study from Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology.
Advertisement

Most American workers in AI-related jobs and students in AI-related graduate programs are not originally from the US, with 59 per cent of the country’s employed computer scientists with PhDs born abroad while 65 per cent of the computer and mathematics professionals in Silicon Valley are not US nationals. India and China are the most common countries of origin for non-US tech professionals and international students in AI-related fields.

The job market for AI talent is tight globally, as shown by the labour market indicators cited in the report. It noted that the number of AI-related job postings on the popular job site Glassdoor have doubled in 11 months and the site predicts demand will outstrip supply for at least another five years. The China-based Tencent Research Institute has estimated there are roughly 300,000 AI researchers and practitioners worldwide, with market demand for millions of roles.

Although US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February directing federal agencies to prioritise funding for AI research and development, the Trump administration has made it more difficult for foreign talent to obtain work visas. Administration officials, including FBI Director Christopher Wray and senior White House figures, have portrayed Chinese studying in the US as potential threats to national security.
Fears over growing hostility towards Chinese academics and students working and studying in the US deepened after some Chinese-American professors were removed from their posts at universities for allegedly failing to disclose their ties to institutions in China. Some Chinese scholars also said their 10-year multiple-entry US visas had been revoked without explanation.

“It is tremendously important to have international scholars be able to meet in person to discuss issues in technology ethics, especially in AI, which is transforming the world so rapidly. Visas have supported these meetings,” said Brian Green, director of technology ethics at the Markkula Centre for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University in California, in a policy paper published earlier this month by the non-profit group Partnership on AI.

Advertisement
Advertisement