For academia/industry, do HuggingFace model downloads mean anything for academic job market? [D]

A user is asking if HuggingFace model downloads are considered a legitimate measure of impact for academic job applications and in the AI industry. They are preparing a section on "impact" for academic jobs and are unsure if the total number of downloads for their custom-trained models would be seen as valid or dismissed as bot activity. They also inquire about the relevance of these download numbers for industry positions in AI labs.

This discussion uniquely explores whether HuggingFace model downloads are a legitimate impact metric for academic and industry AI jobs, unlike typical discussions focused on research papers or citations.