Silicon Valley\u2019s start-ups have always had a recruiting advantage over the industry\u2019s giants: Take a chance on us and we\u2019ll give you an ownership stake that could make you rich if the company is successful.<\/p>\n
Now the tech industry\u2019s race to embrace artificial intelligence may render that advantage moot \u2014 at least for the few prospective employees who know a lot about A.I.<\/p>\n
Tech\u2019s biggest companies are placing huge bets on artificial intelligence, banking on things ranging from\u00a0face-scanning smartphones<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0conversational coffee-table gadgets<\/a>\u00a0to computerized health care and autonomous vehicles. As they chase this future, they are doling out salaries that are startling even in an industry that has never been shy about lavishing a fortune on its top talent.<\/p>\n Typical A.I. specialists, including both Ph.D.s fresh out of school and people with less education and just a few years of experience, can be paid from $300,000 to $500,000 a year or more in salary and company stock, according to nine people who work for major tech companies or have entertained job offers from them. All of them requested anonymity because they did not want to damage their professional prospects.<\/p>\n