Ask yourself this: Is there a market for database developers that don't have a PH.D in Relational Algebra? "AI" will be democratized very quickly just like data (SQL, Excel, etc.) has and solving business problems with technology will be more important than ivory tower tinkering. That being said, if you're interested in Deep Learning... do yourself the favor of truly understanding what is happening with backpropogation and eventually learn to code networks by hand, from memory; simply to aid your own intuition.