AI Human Capital Investment Index
23.07.2023 - 10:40
Mandala's new AI Human Capital Investment Index measures how companies are investing in hiring workers with AI-related skills.
Measuring investment in AI skills
Mandala used data from job ads to construct an AI Human Capital Investment Index, a measure of how intensely companies invest in hiring workers with AI-related skills.
There was a 5x investment growth in human capital investment between 2017 and 2021
Companies have been steadily increasing their investment in AI skills over time. Between 2017 and late-2021, the index in Australia grew by 5 times. This investment fell in 2022 during the global technology downturn as many companies froze hiring but it’s started to accelerate again as we’ve seen new investments in generative AI and other applications.
Human capital Investment was dominated by universities and has flowed to services
As AI technology matured and its applications proliferated, investment in AI skills is flowing across the economy. Current investment is dominated by professional and financial services companies with some contributions from mining, logistics, manufacturing, and healthcare. There is opportunity to identify sectors that would benefit from the productivity gains provided by AI technology.
Human capital investment is geographically concentrated in NSW and Victoria
Organisations in NSW and Victoria contributed 76% of Australia’s total investment in AI skills. Encouraging investment across the country will ensure that productivity gains and benefits from AI technology are more evenly spread.
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