The impact of a global shake up in the world of artificial intelligence begins

The world of artificial intelligence had a rude awakening over the winter. Towards the end of January, a Chinese chatbot interloper called DeepSeek popped up and within a week was causing convulsions in stock markets and the tech industry.

David Sapsted

5 February 2025

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Not only did Deepseek start attracting more downloads than its established US rivals, but it did so at a fraction of the cost. President Trump, who had only just pledged hundreds of billions of dollars to boost American AI, described the emergence of DeepSeek as “a wake-up call” for the industry.Subsequently, concerns were raised over DeepSeek users’ privacy and state security; over Chinese censorship of the site; and over the reliability of its content, with NewsGuard – a rating service that analyses devices for their accuracy - finding the chatbot only managed a 17 per cent score in delivering wholly accurate news and information.On the plus side, Computerworld magazine pointed out: "DeepSeek’s cost-saving techniques for training and delivering generative AI models could democratise the entire industry by lowering entry barriers for new AI companies."HR Grapevine, a digital resource for HR professionals, added that "cheaper AI development might yet mean opportunities in smaller firms or startups that previously couldn’t afford to compete in the space. HR departments in those companies would need to shift gears, focusing on hiring talent skilled in deploying and managing AI models".That, however, poses the question of where that talent is to come from at a time when Mr Trump has vowed to "make America the world capital in artificial intelligence" and the UK is now committed to creating a tech hub in the Oxford-Cambridge corridor that will become "the Silicon Valley of Europe".Tom Hurd, CEO of Zeki Data - a UK-based data company that scores the future potential of deep-tech companies to guide investment and talent acquisition - says that countries are waking up to the need to attract and retain talent "as a key to building sovereign capabilities in transformational technologies".Mr Hurd explained: "There is intense competition for the finite science and engineering talent that deep-tech companies need to advance their innovation ambitions. Governments are throwing money at deep-tech start-ups to secure an innovative advantage, but Zeki's data shows there's limited ROI (return on investment) amid counter-vailing winds of high capital costs and market consolidation."Attracting and retaining the most innovative talent is the best indicator of future innovation potential for deep-tech companies. This should be the priority for countries and companies alike."According to a survey by Microsoft and LinkedIn, involving 31,000 people across 31 nations, the demand for AI expertise has surged across industries, with the hiring of talent surging by 323 per cent between 2016-24. And more than half of business leaders expressed fears that they would not be able to find enough talent to fill AI vacancies in 2025.The UK government has now instructed its Migration Advisory Committee to review the existing visa system in a bid to attract more high-skilled workers. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves told delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos: “We are going to look again at routes for the highest skilled people, visas particularly in the areas of AI and life sciences.“Britain is open for business, we are open for talent, we’ve got some of the best universities, some of the best entrepreneurs in the world, but we also want to bring in global talent.”A report on proposals to boost the visa system is due later this year and Rajiv Naik, a partner at immigration lawyers Fragomen, said it was imperative that reforms aligned with business needs if the UK was to remain competitive on the global stage.He said that that while the UK immigration system remained comparatively straightforward compared to other nations, it was also among the world's most expensive, with visa costs up to 17 times higher than in many of its competitor nations."These high costs, combined with limited short-term work travel options, create significant challenges for businesses competing for talent," Mr Naik commented.Emma Prodromou, global business expansion and immigration manager at Mauve Group - a global HR, business consultancy and employment solutions provider - said the UK's AI Action Plan "signals a vital need to leverage international talent in order to secure the UK’s position as a leader in artificial intelligence".However, she added: "This ambition clashes with recent moves by the government to restrict international student numbers via student visa clampdowns, which have resulted in universities being compelled to cut courses and slash budgets."Despite a well-documented skills gap in the UK’s AI sector, the Government’s actions have forced universities to pivot toward establishing global campuses in a bid to preserve financial stability, and maintain and promote international collaboration in general, as well as in the AI space."Ms Prodromou cited recent cases including Coventry University, which last year established in Delhi, and the University of Lancaster, which has gone into partnership with Deakin University in Indonesia. Currently, she said, UK universities operate 38 campuses across 18 countries, educating some 67,750 students abroad."Yet, while these campuses extend the UK’s global academic influence, the current visa system prevents many international graduates trained to UK standards from contributing their skills to the UK economy as they struggle to secure postgraduate visas for themselves and their family," she said.Ms Prodromou pointed out that the government claims AI graduates from institutions not included in the High Potential Individual (HPI) eligibility list can pursue alternative routes, such as Skilled Worker or Global Talent visas."But these options are expensive and often hinge on employer sponsorship or fail to adequately address the complexities of integrating global AI talent into the UK workforce. Additionally, with most HPI visas predominantly benefiting American graduates, the scheme proves restrictive," she said.

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For the AI Action Plan to succeed in its aim of attracting top AI talent from unviversities acoss the world, education institutions with a proven success record must collaborate with government visa policymakers to create a targeted, affordable, AI-focused visa route.Meanwhile, members of Forbes Technology Council - a community of world-class technology leaders - have contributed to a report on what companies should be doing to attract much-needed AI talent, with Anurag Agrawal, technical lead and engineering manager at Google, joining several others in saying firms must offer cutting-edge projects that expand AI boundaries."An environment encouraging innovation, experimentation with new technologies and open-source contributions, appeals to AI professionals’ intellectual curiosity and ambition. This approach satisfies their desire for continuous learning and industry recognition," he said.Dhruv Seth, engineering lead at Walmart Labs in the San Francisco Bay area, added: "Top AI talent seeks opportunities to innovate in large scale, high performance systems addressing real-world challenges across industries ranging from e-commerce and finance to healthcare. Companies that emphasise ethical AI, cross-functional collaboration, robust resources and professional growth inspire creativity, enhance engagement and ensure sustainability in today’s rapidly evolving market."But what of the chances of smaller entities, particularly startups, attracting the talent they need? Courtney Toomey, senior director of talent development at Postscript, a marketing platform based in Boston, Massachusetts, says that it is no surprise many of the best AI job-seekers "have their eyes on giants like OpenAI or Anthropic, or whatever latest model is making headlines".She says that to stay competitive in today’s market, smaller software enterprises like hers need to go head-to-head with the most iconic AI companies on talent. "This feels daunting, if not impossible, but it’s something we’re actively trying to get better at. "A lot of the best technical talent want to be able to share their perspective and explore new ideas with their team. This is where being a smaller company can work to your advantage."With fewer decision-makers and less red tape, things move faster. You can test ideas in real time, and ship products in weeks or months rather than years. Candidates often appreciate knowing they can make bold moves and take risks in a way that isn’t possible within larger companies."Similarly, we showcase how much more cross-functional work you can do at a startup in comparison to large companies with rigid structures and hierarchy."And as the South China pointed out recently: the emergence of DeepSeek has "signalled an intensifying competition between nations to win over the brightest AI minds". It is a competition that still has a long, long way to run.

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