AI Index Report 2026
Comprehensive analysis of AI investment, research output, labour market data, and policy landscape across 50+ countries.
$581B
Global AI investment in 2025 (up from $340B in 2024)
−20%
Employment decline among 22–25 year-old developers
#1
AI Engineer: fastest-growing job title on LinkedIn in 2026
What this report says in 60 seconds
- →Global AI investment reached $581 billion in 2025 — up from $340B in 2024
- →Employment among 22–25 year-old developers fell nearly 20% YoY — structural disruption to entry-level tech
- →AI engineer job postings: #1 fastest-growing job title on LinkedIn in 2026
- →AI model capabilities advancing faster than workforce adaptation
- →University AI enrolments up 180% since 2022 — but still insufficient for demand
- →US leads AI investment; China leads AI patent applications; UK top 3 globally for AI research output
What this means for you
Career Navigator
This is me →The investment level ($581B globally) confirms that AI is not a passing trend. This is structural, permanent, and accelerating. Professionals who treat this as a long-term career investment rather than a short-term skill add will have a significant advantage.
Career Starter
This is me →The decline in entry-level developer employment is a signal to redirect: traditional coding routes are becoming more competitive. Non-technical AI roles — oversight, governance, content, strategy — are growing fast and remain undersupplied.
Career Reinventor
This is me →The scale of AI investment creates a corresponding demand for wisdom, judgment, and governance that investment alone cannot provide. Every $581B in AI technology needs human expertise to deploy it responsibly.
Roles this research highlights
AI Systems Auditor
Fastest growingEvaluates AI pipelines for accuracy, bias, and hallucination risk. EU AI Act compliance is driving explosive legal demand for this role.
AI Ethics & Governance Advisor
GrowingEnsuring AI deployments are ethical, fair, and compliant — advising organisations on responsible AI strategy, policy, and practice.
LLM Quality Analyst
GrowingQuality oversight of large language model outputs in production — the human in the loop ensuring AI-generated content meets accuracy, tone, and safety standards.
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Related research
The Future of Jobs Report 2025
“78 million net new jobs created by 2030, alongside 92 million displaced — net positive, but massive structural churn.”
AI and the Labour Market: 2025 Update
“300 million jobs exposed to AI globally — but net employment effects remain positive in advanced economies due to new job creation exceeding displacement.”