Jobs for the autistic grow beyond tech

livemint.com:

More companies are tapping a reservoir of talent the tech industry has used to develop better artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and other products: the autistic. Microsoft, SAP, Salesforce and other tech giants have long had programs to recruit and retain employees whose brains process information in ways that aren’t typical. Now banks, retailers and others are recognizing the special skills of those with autism and other types of neurodivergence.

The disproportionate number of people with unique minds in tech has been known for years. Elon Musk has publicly said he has Asperger’s syndrome. Sam Bankman-Fried has requested access to his ADHD medicine in prison.

Alex Karp, chief executive of AI software company Palantir Technologies, called himself a “hyper, inexplicably dyslexic outsider" at an event last month. “Tech is maximally tolerant of any personality if you’re delivering," he said. As the focus on people’s mental health has increased since Covid-19, more companies are discovering that atypical ways of thinking can be a qualification rather than a disability.

Specialists say some autistic workers have the ability to work long hours on repetitive tasks such as labeling photos and videos for computer-vision systems to train AI. Others have a knack for pattern recognition that makes them good at identifying gaps in cybersecurity or spotting tiny errors in realms of code. They can also be creative and hyperfocused.

Jonathan Moore, 26, studied computer science in college but struggled to land a job for years. He says he is strong at programming but couldn’t do the usual part-time jobs or internships during school because of the stress of interacting with too many people. He eventually landed a job as a software