A short trip from Silicon Valley and half that from LA, host of the world’s most anticipated technology fair every year, and host of perhaps more corporate getaways than any other city. Each day an average of 79,000 people get off a plane in Las Vegas.
While there are plenty of workhorse cities for leading tech entrepreneurs, Vegas is special. Large swathes of the city itself are devoted to R&R. Just as the golf course is conducive to business deals and bar napkins are perfect for sketching out mathematical models, Las Vegas serves as an ideal place for great minds in the tech industry to come together around new ideas.
More tech connections and deals have been made here than perhaps anywhere else. Elon Musk just announced his new artificial intelligence company xAI would be incorporated in Nevada. The AI Foundation, a dual non-profit and commercial organization whose mission is to bring AI to everyone in the world, has its offices in Las Vegas.
Some people get lucky at the slot machines, but if you’re enthusiastic about the emerging field of AI then luck has nothing to do with how well you excel.
AI is going to touch everything from healthcare to aerospace to municipal planning. And here in Nevada, you’re in a great spot to ride this wave, you just need to find the AI degree program that fits your professional goals.
There are so many degree options out there that align with various professional paths in AI –robotics, data science, machine learning, engineering– that the hardest part can be deciding which path you want to follow.
Latest AI Advancements Showcased in Las Vegas
Milan debuts fashion, Hollywood debuts movies, and Las Vegas debuts the world’s latest technological developments at its annual CES consumer electronics show.
This year’s central theme was AI. Over 135,000 attendees lined up to see more than 4,300 exhibitors representing upwards of 1,400 startup companies; all vying for space in the Las Vegas Convention Center at an event spanning just four days.
Featured exhibitors are a who’s-who of today’s largest tech companies, and undoubtedly, some of tomorrow’s innovators can be found sprinkled throughout the demos and attendees.
If not singly responsible for cementing Las Vegas’ status as the global go-to place to rub shoulders with AI innovators, CES has certainly put it squarely on the map.
Back in 2001 CES attendees saw radical new developments like a fingerprint reader that unlocks a laptop computer, a palm pilot complete with a mini keyboard for $599, and a flip phone that could also play movies on its two-inch screen.
A $400 watch for kids that tracked their location using then-newly-released GPS and cell phone technology was touted as a harbinger for one day being able to do things like track packages or find lost pets.
Fast forward to the present and what seemed like science fiction two decades ago is commonplace, a context that warrants raising a second eyebrow to this year’s showcases like:
- Binoculars that use image recognition to identify bird species
- Autonomous tractors from John Deere
- Driverless excavators and other heavy machinery
- AI-powered exoskeleton suits whose wearers can run faster and jump higher
- Robots that can serve as movie projectors and roving home security systems
- A toothbrush that offers real-time audio feedback on your brushing technique while it’s in your mouth
CES has always been a preview of what’s to come, and this year’s AI focus saw entrenched global tech giants with their showcase booths alongside garage startups.
Las Vegas is the perfect venue for this kind of show, a city where it’s common to see tourists who just stepped off a Greyhound passing those who flew in on their private jets on the same Strip sidewalk.
AI Jobs in Nevada
Boston Dynamics’ dancing robots are certainly eye-catching but they’re not going to put ballerinas out of business. While Vegas’ cocktail-pouring automatons are less glitzy they have the potential to upend barkeeps worldwide.
In fact, AI is poised to dramatically reshape the Las Vegas service sector in general, making Nevada a testing ground for what’s to come to America writ large.
Recent studies predict that by 2035, 65% of jobs in Las Vegas could be automated. Smart kiosks are already managing hotel check-ins. Text bots are recommending restaurants. Large mechanical arms are pouring drinks.
When it comes to studying the roll out of AI in the service-sector job market Los Vegas can serve as an informative model. Pushback is a natural and predictable reaction to AI advancements as they’re introduced into the workforce.
As more service-sector jobs are assigned to AI systems, organizations like Nevada’s Culinary Union are increasingly invigorated as an opposition.
Representing 60,000 service and hospitality workers in Reno and Las Vegas, right now the Culinary Union is negotiating contracts for its members that include provisions against AI replacing service-industry jobs.
On the other hand, it’s hard to find opposition to using AI and machine learning to improve cancer care, as is done by Comprehensive Cancer Centers located across Nevada.
Looking at the wider picture for AI in Nevada, there’s no doubt this new technology is going to be a game changer. Virtually every major sector will be affected.
Knowing how to market your AI skills will be crucial as you surf the job market, and this is covered in-depth as part of any AI academic program.
Artificial Intelligence Jobs in Vegas, Henderson, and Boulder City
Healthcare and medicine are huge sectors in Nevada and right now developments in AI are improving treatments and outcomes.
Comprehensive Cancer Centers works out of more than 10 locations spread across Vegas, Henderson, and Boulder City to treat different forms of cancer using radiation and surgery. One innovative method pioneered regionally is able to attack previously inoperable cancers using directed energy, a technique made possible by advances in AI.
Known as CyberKnife, computer-controlled robotics and image recognition tools are able to target tumors in hard-to-reach places like the brain. CCC is also keeping a close eye on how AI can improve patient diagnoses and care using real-time tracking of health variables connected by smart devices.
Moving from the physical to the mental, data scientists working at Beautiful Mind in Las Vegas write algorithms that help people overcome mental health issues. This company offers online individual therapy, group therapy, medical management, and educational resources. It uses AI to power its patient diagnostic models.
AI Companies in Las Vegas
Las Vegas is the bullseye on the map for AI innovator meet-ups. With offices in Las Vegas and Bangalore, sliQue Robotics specializes in data analytics for robots and the internet of things. In the robotics category it offers products for security, delivery, cleaning, and industrial applications. At the industry level its solutions are geared towards automation, be that in warehousing, hospitality, restaurants, retail, or healthcare.
One of its favorite products to showcase is a four-legged security bot that’s capable of autonomous navigation, real-time threat detection, and image-recognition enhanced surveillance.
Vegas-based Halo incorporates all the features of a ride sharing app but offers something truly unique beyond this: remote piloting.
To passengers, a Halo vehicle looks like a driverless car, but it’s being operated remotely by someone sitting in an office hooked up to video and sensor feeds streaming over LTE and 5G networks.
It should come as no surprise that software engineers, robotics engineers, and hardware engineers feature prominently as Halo team members.
AI Salary in Reno, Las Vegas, and Carson City
The US Department of Labor tracks salaries for AI professionals across Nevada, represented by computer information and systems managers by proxy.
In 2022 AI professionals earned an average annual salary of $127,360 in Nevada.
Broken down by region the annual average salary that year works out to:
- $130,720 in Reno
- $128,870 in rural Nevada
- $127,060 in metro Las Vegas
- $113,790 in Carson City
When it comes to yearly salaries in the 90th percentile, Nevada’s heavy hitters are:
- Reno – $185,220
- Metro Las Vegas – $179,860
In this category Carson City and Rural Nevada rank in at the $160k-$161k level.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Master’s Degree and Certificate Courses in Nevada and Online
The options for studying AI in Nevada are only growing. It’s an exciting time to earn a degree in this field, and if you can’t find what you’re specifically looking for in-state there are plenty of additional options available online through universities across the nation.
Las Vegas and Reno offer graduate degree options in some of AI’s most enticing subfields.
Machine Learning Degree and Certificate Options in Las Vegas
ML is at the heart of much of AI today.
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas offers an MS in data analytics. It also offers MS and PhD programs in computer science with the option to focus on AI and machine learning.
AI Robotics Degree and Certificate Options in Reno
The Computer Science and Engineering Department at the University of Nevada, Reno is proud of its faculty advisors who specialize in areas like intelligent-autonomous systems and data-software systems. Graduate students studying related subjects can take advantage of faculty collaboration opportunities.
The university also has a robotics group hosted by faculty specializing in human-robot interaction, assistive robotics, and field robotics.
AI Computer Science Degree and Certificate Options in Las Vegas
At the University of Nevada, Las Vegas you can earn an MS or PhD in computer science with a focus in data science and big data. The school also offers an undergraduate minor in unmanned aircraft systems.
The University of Nevada, Reno also offers an undergraduate minor in unmanned autonomous systems.
AI Engineering Degree and Certificate Options in Reno
The Computer Science and Engineering Department at the University of Nevada, Reno offers MS and PhD programs in computer science and engineering.
Its College of Engineering offers undergraduate, MS, and PhD programs in electrical engineering. An emphasis within this field includes robotics, autonomous/aerial vehicles, and embedded systems.