I disagree that for becoming an expert you don't need PhD., or some kind of 3-4 years focused work in a particular topic in AI.
But the question is are all Ph.D equal, in my view many students fraudulently awarded Ph.D without enough rigorous work, earlier those won't get hired, but because of AI hype they get hired. Also many old PhDs brand them-self as AI expert even though they don't know much.
Hiring is still runs on hype and there are many bias (including gender bias) exists in industry.(e.g. Facebook's Mark does not like to hire 30+ people)
But the question is are all Ph.D equal, in my view many students fraudulently awarded Ph.D without enough rigorous work, earlier those won't get hired, but because of AI hype they get hired. Also many old PhDs brand them-self as AI expert even though they don't know much.
Hiring is still runs on hype and there are many bias (including gender bias) exists in industry.(e.g. Facebook's Mark does not like to hire 30+ people)