If you want an AI job in India, don’t focus on computer vision: Avisek Lahiri, Google researcher

Avisek Lahiri, a researcher at Google, has made a startling comment in a recent LinkedIn post. He said: Let's be honest. There is dearth of "researchy" job in India (in reputed companies) with core focus on Computer Vision.

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He suggested the focus should rather be on core machine learning topics such as Bayesian inference, Graph Neural Networks, Reinforcement Learning, Game Theory & ML fairness, where opportunities are plenty.

Especially, I would recommend people to focus on graph neural networks because most of the data out there are unstructured and graph nets are widely used by companies such as Swiggy Amazon Flipkart Uber Walmart which are regularly analyzing million nodes graphs, he added.

Also, most of the companies are focusing on ML fairness. So, it's the optimal time to spend your effort on this topic. Especially, with companies pushing towards #aiforgood, fairness becomes a key component in the pipeline, Avisek said.

The post attracted a lot of responses. Ujjal Kr Dutta, the senior data scientist at Myntra, echoed the sentiments. He recounted his struggle to find research jobs post his doctorate. He also mentioned a few companies that have pure and /or applied research focused labs/ teams. To which, Avisek responded: Also, if someone is a hardcore CV lover like me -> keep fighting :) CV is one of the most wonderful domains to influence with ML knowledge. I myself never moved away from CV.

Avisek also listed a few links to learn important topics such as:

1. Graph Neural Networks
2. Bayesian Statistics