Race for Generative A.I. - UK and US Need to Catch Up

Islamabad

June 23, 2024

In the competitive artificial intelligence (A.I.) world, the race to master Generative Artificial intelligence (GenAI) skills is on. Coursera's Global Skills Report 2024 sheds light on this race, revealing not only who's leading but also who's lagging, providing a comprehensive overview of the global GenAI skills landscape.

Coursera's Global Skills Report ranks countries based on their readiness in GenAI and related fields, with Switzerland, Japan, and Germany leading the way. The U.K. ranks 45th globally and shows a slower uptake in GenAI skills than top performers despite its all-out efforts in Generative A.I. Based on the Global Skills Report; the U.S. is ranked 69.

Since the launch of Open A.I.'s ChatGPT chatbot in late 2022, the demand for GenAI expertise has not just risen, but skyrocketed. This is evident in the extraordinary 1,060% surge in enrollments for GenAI courses on Coursera, a major online learning platform with 148 million users worldwide, over the past year. This global spike in interest underscores a widespread eagerness among both employers and individuals to equip themselves with these cutting-edge skills, thereby highlighting the urgent need for global upskilling.

Coursera's experts describe the trend as unprecedented, noting that interest spans from casual users planning dinner parties to deep-diving computer scientists exploring the technology's inner workings. GenAI's accessibility is its crucial appeal, promising to enhance productivity and creativity across virtually every job sector.

However, despite the overall growth, not all countries are keeping pace. While the U.S. saw a substantial 1,058% rise in GenAI course enrollments, it lags behind several competitors. In the Asia Pacific, enrollments surged by 1,270%, with India leading at 1,648%. However, neighboring Pakistan has a better ranking than India. The prominent position of Pakistan compared with India could be ascribed to free availability of Coursera across the country for learners and the teaching community in universities by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. Similarly, Mexico and Brazil outpaced the U.S. in the Americas with increases of 1,091% and 1,079%, respectively.

Experts believe the U.K. and U.S.'s insufficient investment in Generative A.I. skills development is the underlying reason for their lower ranks. To keep pace with this emerging technology, governments, universities, and employers must ramp up their upskilling and reskilling efforts. This is not just a matter of staying relevant but also of staying competitive in the global talent race.

While Coursera isn't the sole path to acquiring GenAI skills, its extensive reach makes its enrollment data a crucial indicator of global skills trends.