A groundbreaking mapping project led by researchers at the University of Maryland has unveiled key insights into the landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) job opportunities across the United States. Led by Anil Gupta, the Michael D. Dingman Chair in Strategy and Entrepreneurship, the project, in collaboration with job data tracker LinkUp and consulting company Outrigger Group, has produced the interactive website UMD-LinkUp AI Maps.
The project aims to track and visualize the dispersion of AI jobs nationwide, offering valuable insights into the evolving world of work in the era of AI. Unlike previous approaches that relied on keyword-based methods prone to inaccuracies, UMD-LinkUp AI Maps utilizes a finely-tuned large language model, ensuring a remarkable accuracy exceeding 90% in filtering AI job postings.
The initial findings, outlined in the "From West to the Rest" white paper, reveal a significant upswing in AI job postings despite a decline in overall IT jobs. California retains its position as the dominant force in AI job postings, yet there is clear evidence of a widening geographic spread of AI opportunities over the past five years.
Leading the charge in AI job intensity, Washington, D.C., emerges as the top performer with 1.75% of job postings dedicated to AI skills, followed closely by Virginia at 1.36% and Maryland at 0.82%. The concentration of federal agencies, defense, and aerospace contractors in the D.C. region contributes to its prominence in AI job postings, making it the second-largest hub of new AI jobs in the nation.
Jon Norberg, chief strategy officer at LinkUp and project co-lead, underscores the significance of AI Maps in analyzing economic shifts powered by AI. He emphasizes the tool's role in exploring the integration of AI jobs into the economy and the advancements in skills and technologies driven by AI adoption.
Evan Schnidman, co-founder and CEO of Outrigger Group, emphasizes the profound productivity enhancements enabled by AI and the importance of understanding the geographic distribution of productive employees in the U.S. economy.
The project, which also includes contributions from Dean's Professor of Information Systems Siva Viswanathan, Associate Professor Kunpeng Zhang, and doctoral student Hanwen Shi, envisions UMD-LinkUp AI Maps as a dynamic platform for generating crucial insights into the evolution of AI jobs in the United States.
