Opportunities in AI go unnoticed by nearly 3 in 5 higher education students, BT finds

Despite analyst predictions that the Artificial Intelligence (AI) industry will be worth £49bn globally in 2022, a recent study by BT has reported that nearly three in five UK students in higher education are unaware of the opportunities in AI related courses.

In a study carried out with Yonder Consultancy, BT found 59% of higher education students were unaware of AI courses at the time of choosing their course, and 51% revealed that they would consider studies centered around AI in the future, once they had more information about the courses.

The British telecommunications company also identified a lack of attraction to the UK AI industry, with 38% of higher education students perceiving a career in AI to be “dull”, while 42% said that AI qualifications wouldn’t give them the career they are looking for.

Despite this, BT reported 66% of higher education students believe the AI industry to be full of “ambitious people”, and almost three quarters (73%) believe it to be a career that would allow them to solve problems.

Adrian Joseph OBE, managing director, data and AI, BT, said: “We need the right talent onboard, not just in the technology areas of AI but also in social sciences including ethics. It’s more important than ever to ensure that careers in data and AI are as inclusive and accessible as possible, to create a bigger, more diverse and quality pipeline of AI talent.”

According to the UK Government’s national AI Strategy, the gap between demand and supply of AI skills remains “significant and growing”. In order to meet demand, BT said the UK is in need of a larger workforce with AI expertise.