Will artificial intelligence (AI) help or hurt the cybersecurity job market? Tech journalist Maria Korolov explores this and other AI issues in a recent article in Network World and cites Haystax Technology CEO Bryan Ware as one of her expert sources.

Most experts Korolov interviews agree that AI and machine learning offer a real advantage in today’s cybersecurity landscape. The idea is that AI and automation will manage the simpler tasks, freeing up human analysts to work on the hard stuff – the problems that need analysis and judgment.

Ware makes this point and adds another about there still being a shortage of trained cybersecurity experts: “In the near term there are plenty of positions and not enough professionals,” says Ware. “But over time, AI will allow analysts to be more productive, automating low-level tasks and intelligently alerting the analyst.”

However, Ware also notes that “AI isn’t free. Many techniques require significant algorithm training, data mark-up, and testing that has to be done by humans.”

Korolov ends the article by citing her experts on the skills that will become more (and less) needed with the advent of AI. Ware lists the following as skills that will continue to be in demand: “High-level fusion, incident response, strategic analysis and presentation to decision makers. And feeding the AI.”

Click here to read the full Network World article