How to Become an AI Developer?

According to a report by PwC, by 2030, artificial intelligence will contribute around $15.7 trillion to the world economy. AI is a branch of computer science that revolves around designing smart tools and machines that can perform tasks requiring human intelligence. The core of AI is answering Alan Turing’s question “Are machines capable of thinking?”. The intelligence that a machine demonstrates is called artificial intelligence. There are various aspects of AI such as machine learning, neural networks, computer vision, natural language processing, and know about deep learning and neural works
Applications of AI
AI has its applications in a wide range of industries, including –
- E-commerce – In the e-commerce industry, AI is behind the product recommendations that users get while shopping or browsing products online. Chatbots have also been incorporated into e-commerce websites to answer the queries of customers at all hours. AI is also used to filter fake reviews of products and malicious content. With AI, search results on e-commerce websites are also optimized so that users can find exactly what they are looking for.
- Healthcare – There are various uses of AI in the healthcare industry. By using AI systems, administrative tasks in the healthcare industry can be managed properly, minimizing human error and maximizing efficiency. AI is also helpful in diagnosis, as AI systems can read MRI scans quicker than a radiologist and the margin of error is also less as compared to humans. AI has also found its use in robot-assisted surgeries. These surgeries are less invasive as compared to traditional surgeries, and they are also more accurate.
- Automobile industry – Another prominent sector wherein AI is used is self-driven vehicles. AI offers various features such as monitoring blindspots and driver-assisted steering that improve user experience as well as safety.
- Social media – AI is behind the posts that you see every day on your social media feeds. AI can determine your interests based on the accounts you follow and the posts that you like. AI is also used to detect hateful content or fraud on social media platforms.
What does an AI Developer do?
Statista has predicted that by 2023, there will be 8 billion voice assistants that will be powered by AI. With such rapid growth of artificial intelligence, the demand for AI professionals has been increasing constantly. If you are an IT professional aspiring to become an AI developer, this is the right time to enter the AI industry. Let’s take a look at what AI developers do and how to become one.
At a glance, one can say that an AI developer is responsible for developing AI applications and software that organizations can use. For example, AI is responsible for the recommendations of movies or TV shows that you get when you browse on a streaming site.
As an AI developer, you would be responsible for providing business solutions using AI and other programming technologies. AI developers design, develop, deploy, test as well as maintain applications and systems that are powered by AI.
Responsibilities of an AI Developer
The responsibilities of an AI developer include –
- Building AI systems for solving business problems
- Maintaining and monitoring AI systems
- Developing data transformation architecture
- Training teams for implementing AI systems
- Explaining the pros and cons of AI systems to stakeholders and project managers
- Stay up-to-date with the latest AI technologies that you can implement within your organization
How to Become an AI Developer?
If you want to become an AI developer, you need some technical as well as soft skills, such as –
- Educational qualification – You will need a bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, economics, statistics, or mathematics to become an AI developer.
- Mathematical skills – To be successful as an AI developer, you need to have mathematical as well as statistical skills. Knowledge of linear algebra is required for machine learning whereas a foundation in calculus is necessary for learning neural networks.
- Programming skills – As an AI developer, you will be using programming languages such as Java, C#, Python, and C++ frequently. Hence, you will need a working knowledge of such programming languages.
- Knowledge of algorithms – Apart from mathematical and programming skills, you will also need to possess knowledge about algorithms and probability, since you will need to understand models such as Gaussian Mixture Models, Naïve Bayes, and Hidden Markov Models. You also need to know about deep learning and neural networks.
- Being current with the latest developments – Since AI is such a growing and evolving field, you need to stay up-to-date with all the latest happenings in the industry. You can do that by signing up for newsletters, attending conferences, or joining an online community. There are lots of blogs online that you can read to increase your knowledge.
- Training – There are various Artificial Intelligence courses online that you can pursue. With these certifications, you can stand out among your peers and they can boost your resume as well.
- Projects – To demonstrate your learnings, you should work on open source projects to sharpen your skills as well as showcase your knowledge.
- Quick learner and flexible – You will need to be a quick learner and flexible to become a successful AI developer. You will be working with multiple tools and different projects, hence flexibility and multitasking is a must.
- Business skills – AI developers also require creative thinking skills, industry knowledge and communication skills along with analytical and problem-solving skills.
What are the Top Tools Used by an AI Developer?
As an AI developer, these are some of the tools that you’ll be using –
- Deep learning platforms and libraries
- Cloud platforms like Google Cloud or Azure
- Analytics tools such as PyTorch or TensorFlow
- Programming languages like Python and Java
- Profiling tools such as Perforce or Perl
Salary of an AI Developer
As an AI developer, you can expect to earn an average salary of $75,000 per annum that increases as you move ahead in this field.
There is an opportunity for tremendous growth in the field of artificial intelligence. Small as well as big companies are looking for AI professionals, so the demand for AI developers has more than doubled in the past few years. If you want to become an AI developer, follow these steps and begin your career.