It’s at the point people are entering ML bootcamps that have zero interest in the science but a big interest in having a job. I have one anecdotal story about a friend of a friend doing just that.
Oh yes, it's been like that for years now. I see the attraction: high salary, cool title. But you need to have the right kind of brain for it, and more importantly, a lot of companies have gotten burned on their DS experiments and pulled back their investments.