We hire applied ML/AI specialists. For me it's not just an understanding of mathematical concepts, but also being able to apply new ideas to new problems. This

We hire applied ML/AI specialists. For me it's not just an understanding of mathematical concepts, but also being able to apply new ideas to new problems. This depends quite a bit on critical thinking, a good fundamental ability to analyze a problem and understand its parameters, then manage the logical operations required to deliver the feature and solve the problem. As for why I think it's on HN every day: I also like to think of an innovation pipeline happening something like this: [---------explore------|----------exploit-----------] ,->developers -> engineers/scientists -> data scientists->--, /----------<----------------<--------------------<----------/ We're now in some sort of refinement cycle of innovation, where the current medium has been saturated on some level and there is a lot of push to mine value from the discoveries.