Bonus question on O-1: what do you think are the easiest boxes to check for a talented professionals in AI? High salary and critical capacity for established organizations are a given, but what else?
"Original contributions" is the foundational category for a tech or engineering case anyway. And trending specialties like AI are well-placed to develop solid evidence in this category.
I'd also add the publications and judging categories. These are easy-win categories that are evaluated with a more lenient standard than the other 6. They're also a great way to attract "sustained acclaim" by building a reputation as a thought leader in your field.
Note that the "field of endeavor" for these 2 categories in private-industry cases is industry publications, presentations, podcasts, broadcasts, and events, NOT academic publications or citation counts. (All these industry activities "count" as publications.)