More and more AI specialization.

The proportion of new computer science PhD graduates from U.S. universities who specialized in AI jumped to 19.1% in 2021, from 14.9% in 2020 and 10.2% in 2010.

New AI PhDs increasingly head to industry.

In 2011, roughly the same proportion of new AI PhD graduates took jobs in industry (40.9%) as opposed to academia (41.6%). Since then, however, a majority of AI PhDs have headed to industry. In 2021, 65.4% of AI PhDs took jobs in industry, more than double the 28.2% who took jobs in academia.

New North American CS, CE, and information faculty hires stayed flat..

In the last decade, the total number of new North American computer science (CS), computer engineering (CE), and information faculty hires has decreased: There were 710 total hires in 2021 compared to 733 in 2012. Similarly, the total number of tenure-track hires peaked in 2019 at 422 and then dropped to 324 in 2021.

The gap in external research funding for private versus public American CS departments continue to widen.

In 2011, the median amount of total expenditure from external sources for computing research was roughly the same for private and public CS departments in the United States. Since then, the gap has widened, with private U.S. CS departments receiving millions more in additional funding than public universities. In 2021, the median expenditure for private universities was $9.7 million, compared to $5.7 million for public universities.

Interest in K-12 AI and computer science education grows in both the United States and the rest of the world.

In 2021, a total of 181,040 AP computer science exams were taken by American students, a 1.0% increase from the previous year. Since 2007, the number of AP computer science exams has increased ninefold. As of 2021, 11 countries, including Belgium, China, and South Korea, have officially endorsed and implemented a K–12 AI curriculum.