Steep decline in demand for AI professional who once earned up to 345,000 Euros, a notable shift in the job market for the once sought-after role.

Steep decline in demand for AI professional who once earned up to 345,000 Euros, a notable shift in the job market for the once sought-after role.

Aye, here's the juicy skinny on the AI biz, folks. The Prompt Engineer, once predicted to be the next big tech job, is apparently now passé, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Looks like Microsoft did a big survey of 31,000 employees in 31 countries, and they said the demand for Prompt Engineers is on the decline, while the need for AI trainers, data specialists, and security experts is skyrocketing.

The hype around AI jobs brought the Prompt Engineer to the forefront. Back in 2024, it was said this job would be in high demand, with titanic salaries of up to €345,000 a year. But that ship has sailed.

The dealio with Prompt Engineers is they write the prompts, the text blocks with instructions for AI tools like ChatGPT. They were supposed to be the experts who knew all the secret tricks to get the AI to give them the best results.

Now, chatbots are starting to handle the conversation all by themselves. They're getting better and better at understanding what users want to achieve, and if they don't know, they'll even ask for clarification or suggest something themselves.

Companies are also training their own employees in AI usage across all functions, so a central role for Prompt Engineers isn't necessary anymore.

Here's the tea on what's making the Prompt Engineer obsolete:

1. AI is getting smart: AI systems are now refining their own prompts using techniques like chain-of-thought reasoning and adaptive questioning, reducing the need for human intermediation. Plus, the hype around minimal-effort AI prompting has given way to the realization that domain expertise matters more than generic prompt engineering.
2. They need specialists: Companies need trained professionals to refine models using proprietary data to ensure accuracy and compliance. This includes conversation designers and linguists to make the AI's responses as human-like as possible, and experts to audit systems for potential biases and privacy risks.
3. Security threats: With AI integrated into critical systems, there are now vulnerabilities like prompt injection attacks that require specialists to harden models and ensure security.
4. Everyone's getting AI-smart: Companies are upskilling their employees in AI fundamentals, making dedicated prompt engineers redundant. Tools like AutoML and AI-powered code assistants automate tasks once handled by prompt specialists.

So, the moral of the story is, if you were thinking about becoming a Prompt Engineer, you might want to reconsider. The future's looking brighter for AI trainers, security experts, conversation designers, ethics compliance officers, and folks who can bridge AI capabilities with industry needs and risk mitigation.

1. As AI systems become smarter, they are now refining their own prompts using techniques like chain-of-thought reasoning and adaptive questioning, reducing the need for human intermediation such as Prompt Engineers.
2. In order to refine models using proprietary data and ensure accuracy and compliance, companies are now hiring trained professionals like conversation designers, linguists, and experts to audit systems for potential biases and privacy risks, thereby making the role of Prompt Engineers less central.
3. With AI integrated into critical systems, there has been an emerging threat called prompt injection attacks, which necessitates the need for specialists to harden models and ensure security, leaving less room for Prompt Engineers.
4. As companies upskill their employees in AI fundamentals, dedicated Prompt Engineers are becoming redundant, as tasks once handled by them are being automated by tools like AutoML and AI-powered code assistants.

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