Yeah well, "according to nine people" who are all anonymous, is not an industry trend.
I have no doubt some people command these kinds of salaries, but kids out of high school, I don't think so. Surely it is a market economy, and Silicon Valley can pay any particular individual whatever they like for a project they have in mind. That's not an industry wide trend.
But yeah, with the hardward now so capable, there is going to be a rush for this. I have an AI project myself, but it is not top shelf priority right now.