Ask HN: What's the difficulty of a mid-career pivot from engineering to AI?

This may sound naive, but the lack of viable career paths/jobs that aren't lateral or backwards moves in electrical engineering/product after 12 years of work experience seem to be non existent in the present market, so I am reaching for other ideas.

I realize AI is the hot thing right now, however it also appears to have the importance and utility to create a phase shift (a lot like the internet) in how we work and interact in daily life.

Without any prior knowledge (outside of news and some dabbling with ChatGPT), is a mid career pivot to move into AI possible from technical but non-software roles? Would the VC backed firms even consider a resume that doesn't include extensive AI research from a 4 year school? What syllabus or resources would help move a career in that direction?

Thanks in advance.