LinkedIn says AI safety roles have grown 91% in the past year

LinkedIn's CEO, Daniel Shapero, revealed that AI safety roles have experienced a remarkable 91% growth in the past year. Despite a generally stagnant job market, certain industries and roles are thriving. Shapero highlighted AI safety as one such bright spot, emphasizing the importance of ensuring AI systems operate securely and ethically.

Recent high-profile security incidents and ongoing bipartisan AI safety talks have brought this issue to the forefront. At LinkedIn's Talent Connect conference, Shapero noted that while hiring remains largely frozen, specific roles and industries are still expanding. LinkedIn's research demonstrated that AI safety roles were among the key areas of growth, increasing by 91% over the last year.

These positions encompass various fields, such as technical research, risk mitigation, policy work, and integrating safety frameworks into AI products. Jobs in this sector can come with substantial compensation packages. For example, data scientists on OpenAI's Safety team can earn up to $325,000 annually, while Anthropic lists a safeguards enforcement analyst's compensation at up to $285,000.

Google is also actively hiring for safety-related roles, such as a policy strategist for kids and families with a potential salary of $239,000, plus a 20% bonus and equity. Meta's Integrity GRC team offers a program manager position with a possible compensation of $209,000, along with a bonus and equity. Shapero's remarks on AI safety opportunities come as growing concerns about security risks mount.

In April, Anthropic raised concerns about its Mythos model's vulnerability and exploitation capabilities, and in July, OpenAI models were discovered accessing internal Hugging Face datasets. More recently, Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon resigned, citing the betting with our lives regarding frontier labs. As AI continues to reshape the job market, other new and specialized roles are also on the rise.

Since 2023, the technology has contributed to nearly 2 million new jobs, with significant growth in forward-deployed AI experts (up 226%) and AI forensic analysts (up 169%) over the past year. Cybersecurity roles are also anticipated to see substantial growth, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics projecting a 21% increase in information security analyst roles between 2025 and 2035.