Embrace the Computer Vision Jobs of the Future

Talking heads on the news love to mention that artificial intelligence, or "robots", are coming for our jobs. This is true, but also misleading: When the automobile came for the horse-drawn carriage, it also created one of the world’s largest industries in the process.

Instead of worrying about AI, job seekers should be developing the types of skills that will be useful for years to come. Computer vision, for example, will reduce the amount of human labor required to process and analyze images from the world around us…but new higher-paying jobs developing the technology and analyzing the data will emerge.

What is computer vision?

Computer vision is an artificial intelligence technique that teaches computers to interpret visual images from the real world via photos or video. Research into this has been going on for 50+ years, but recent years have seen some major breakthroughs.

Currently, there are computer vision models that can analyze millions of photos in seconds and produce an object identification accuracy rates of 99%.

How is it currently used?

The most famous usage of this technology is probably facial recognition software – some programs can automatically (and accurately) detect and sort images within a crowd for security purposes, and that’s just scratching the surface of what’s possible.

Computer vision is currently used to process and analyze auto insurance claims, facilitate automated grocery store checkout, spot defects in manufacturing or agriculture, and track animals for conservation purposes. It has also improved the speed and efficacy of medical research and testing.

What kind of computer vision jobs currently, exist?

Though computer vision and machine learning will replace some jobs, the technology will create more rewarding work for humans. Instead of combing through hours of video footage or piles of photos, data scientists can focus on analyzing high-value information generated by computers.

It’s impossible to discuss computer vision jobs without mentioning engineers – the best computer vision technology in the world still requires human insight, oversight, and maintenance.

The majority of computer vision jobs haven’t even been created yet…

Computer vision is still in its infancy, meaning there will be newer computer vision jobs generated in the future. The main takeaway? There’s never been a better time to level up your tech skills.

Fahim Hassan. Writer, analyst, marketer bla bla bla:)