As South African companies increasingly integrate artificial intelligence into their operational, strategic and product development processes, recruiters are seeing a steady rise in demand for chief AI officers to spearhead these AI initiatives.
The role of the CAIO, as a senior executive position, has a broad mandate that encompasses a deep understanding of AI, data science and machine learning, among others, say the recruiters., one of the primary responsibilities of a CAIO is to develop and articulate a clear AI strategy that aligns with the company’s goals.
“Hiring for a chief AI officer is increasing significantly in South Africa, although at a slower rate in contrast to other developed markets, as the country is still implementing AI technologies across a variety of business sectors. The need for AI capabilities has grown locally for a few reasons. As more businesses adopt AI, they will need a CAIO to properly structure, develop and monitor the performance of AI systems, she points out.
The top three in-demand AI roles by corporates, according to the Pnet Job Market Trends report from February 2024, are data scientist, data analyst and data engineer.