A globally competitive AI workforce hinges on the education, development, and sustainment of the best and brightest AI talent. This issue brief provides an overview of the education systems in China and the United States, lending context to better understand the accompanying main report, “AI Education in China and the United States: A Comparative Assessment.”

The United States and China are keeping an eye on Indonesia’s artificial intelligence potential given the country’s innovation-driven national strategy and flourishing AI industry. China views Indonesia as an anchor for its economic, digital, and political inroads in Southeast Asia and has invested aggressively in new partnerships. The United States, with robust political and economic relations rooted in shared democratic ideals, has an opportunity to leverage its comparative advantages and tap into Indonesia’s AI potential through high-level agreements.

Parents are now sending their kids to study learn about STEM and AI at summer camp. CSET research found that 447 AI summer camps have opened within 48 of the U.S. states.

This issue brief explores whether artificial intelligence and AI-related certifications serve as potential pathways to enter the U.S. AI workforce. The authors find that according to U.S. AI occupation job postings data over 2010–2020, there is little demand from employers for AI and AI-related certifications. From this perspective, such certifications appear to present more hype than promise.

The U.S. government and industry both see artificial intelligence as a pivotal technology for future growth and competitiveness. What skills will be needed to create, integrate, and deploy AI applications? This data brief analyzes market demand for AI-related jobs to determine their educational requirements, dominant sectors, and geographic distribution.

China’s strategy to grow its science and technology talent includes: 1) improving domestic education; 2) attracting overseas Chinese talent; and 3) attracting foreign talent. While China’s commitment to domestic education reform has achieved remarkable results, significant challenges remain.

Plus RAND report on DOD, OECD report on semiconductor industry and the AI Index

Talent is core to U.S. competitiveness in artificial intelligence, and international graduate students are a large source of AI talent for the United States. Graduate student retention has been a historical U.S. strength, but that strength is endangered by recent trends, finds a new CSET report.

See our translation of a CPC Central Committee and PRC State Council strategy for education reform issued in July 2010. The strategy doesn’t mention emerging technologies explicitly, but does address international educational exchange and cultivation of world-class talent, which has implications for emerging technology.