Israel Tops AI Talent Concentration, Indonesia’s Neighbours Close Behind; United States and China Far Behind

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The world’s leading AI talent development does not come from the United States or China. The two countries have been the frontrunners in developing the technology for several years. However there is Israel occupying the top position for AI digital talent. This comes from LinkedIn’s latest 2024 report which measures the global distribution of AI capabilities, surveying 31,000 people across 31 countries. The research found Israel far outpacing the development of AI talent in the US and China despite its much smaller population. Demand for AI-skilled human resources is also increasing. The report states that 66% of business leaders would not hire employees without AI skills. Meanwhile 71% of them prefer to recruit people who are inexperienced but proficient in AI, compared with experienced people who do not possess those skills. The LinkedIn report, conducted in collaboration with Microsoft, measures the distribution of AI talent using the AI Talent Concentration metric derived from user profiles. The assessment considers AI engineering skills such as machine learning and natural language processing, as well as AI literacy such as the use of ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot. From these calculations, Israel sits at the top of the list. The AI talent concentration reached 1.98%, well above the global average. The other two countries in the top three are Singapore with a concentration of 1.64% and Luxembourg 1.44%. Chua Pei Ying, LinkedIn’s APAC Chief Economist, said the learning culture in Singapore stands out and makes it competitive in the AI era. ‘Many countries with the highest AI talent concentration—such as Israel, Singapore, Luxembourg, and Estonia—are small nations, but able to develop ecosystems that quickly support AI talent growth,’ said Chua. Neither China nor the US are in the top ten. For China, the reason is that the country imposes extensive censorship policies on US-made platforms, causing many local talents not to have LinkedIn accounts and their data cannot be gathered for the report. Here is the list of the ten countries with the highest AI talent concentration according to LinkedIn: 1. Israel (1.98%) 2. Singapore (1.64%) 3. Luxembourg (1.44%) 4. Estonia (1.17%) 5. Switzerland (1.16%) 6. Finland (1.13%) 7. Ireland (1.11%) 8. Germany (1.09%) 9. Netherlands (1.07%) 10. Korea (South) (1.06%)