The D.C. metro area surpassed the San Francisco Bay area for artificial intelligence-related job postings in December, according to research from commercial real estate company JLL. More than 1,000 such active job openings existed in the D.C. area at the end of 2023.
Demand for those AI-related jobs in D.C. is booming for several reasons.
While some tech hubs like San Francisco are seeing technology companies scale back on workforces for economic reasons, JLL’s report says the D.C. region is less susceptible to economic fluctuations because of federal spending and government contracts.
The D.C. economy also benefits from a diverse range of industries, including tech, defense, healthcare and finance. However, about half of AI-related job openings in the D.C. metro require government security clearances.
D.C. is, and always has been, a hotbed for lobbying efforts, and the emergence and future of artificial intelligence depends largely on the regulatory environment. JLL calls that unknown territory and says lobbying firms are racing to represent the industry.
The number of groups lobbying on AI issues in Washington has grown to more than 300, according to JLL research, and during the first three quarters of 2023, companies, nonprofits, universities, trade groups and others spent $569 million lobbying the federal government on AI-related issues.
Another reason the D.C. region is ripe for artificial intelligence advances is because of Northern Virginia’s huge data center capacity. It is the largest data center market in the world by a long shot, with almost 4,000 megawatts of capacity, three times that of the second largest data center market in the world, Singapore.
AI data centers have more robust requirements, which will benefit current and future data center inventory demand in Northern Virginia.
The generative AI market will reach $1.3 trillion in the next 10 years, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
The federal government’s own spending on artificial intelligence research and development has more than doubled in the last five years. President Biden’s fiscal 2024 budget request includes $1.8 billion for AI and machine learning initiatives.
The D.C. metro is a strong jobs market for the overall technology industry. When compared to states, Forbes ranks the District the No. 1 job market for IT jobs. Virginia and Maryland both make the top 10.
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