Four artificial intelligence (AI) specialists were hired by Italian watchdog Garante in an attempt to bolster its staff shortly after it temporarily shut down ChatGPT locally in the previous year.
However, a dozen candidates withdrew due to concerns about salary, making it impossible for Italy’s data protection agency to hire the individuals it needed. This underscores an increasing problem facing regulators worldwide.
Guida Scorza, a board member of Garante, told Reuters, “The search process went worse than our low expectations. We will come up with something else, but so far we have lost.”
Since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in late 2022, there has been a sharp increase in demand for AI experience and knowledge, and regulators are competing for talent from the same small pool.
However, industry participants familiar with the situation told Reuters that their hiring goals are being impeded by relatively low compensation, protracted hiring procedures, and visa issues.
Just when the European Union is implementing some of the most comprehensive and significant AI regulations globally, other public agencies within the EU may soon encounter comparable issues.
The European Union has begun hiring for two positions: the European Centre for Algorithmic Transparency (ECAT), which deals with the Digital Services Act and the AI Act, and the recently established AI Office, which will supervise the AI Act’s enforcement.
The EU legislator Dragos Tudorache, who oversaw the writing of the AI Act, stated, “The biggest problem will be enforcement and getting people for this.”
In the meantime, applications are still being accepted for Britain’s AI Safety Institute, which was established following a summit of world leaders in October.
Some fear that this may discourage the greatest talent because many of the public sector jobs posted at these organizations seem to be aimed toward fresh graduates and pay salaries that are far below industry standards.
