The new power player

If there’s one discussion that’s ruling drawing rooms and boardrooms alike, it is how the widespread adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is having a monumental impact on jobs across industries in India.

AI’s rapid advancement is prompting nearly 94 per cent of companies to upskill their employees, a recent survey by professional networking platform LinkedIn indicated. Upskilling employees, learning for business goals, and creating a culture of learning are the top three learning and development priorities for most participating companies in 2024, according to LinkedIn’s latest Workplace Learning Report.

The report also reveals that 91 per cent of learning and development (L&D) professionals in India view human skills as increasingly competitive in the economy.

Another report by Elsevier titled ‘Insights 2024: Attitudes toward AI’ is based on a survey of 3,000 researchers and clinicians from 123 countries who show willingness to use AI in their daily work. It showed that they believe in AI’s high potential in research and healthcare but demand transparency and trust.

According to the document, about 96 per cent of Indians are aware of AI, including generative AI platforms like Google Gemini (formerly Bard) and ChatGPT, but 81 per cent of researchers and clinicians in the country stress increasing transparency while 71 per cent call for trust-building.

The report also highlighted that despite high awareness of AI, only 22 per cent of Indians have used AI for work purposes. A modest 79 per cent of Indians, however, who have not yet used AI expect to use it within the next two to five years.

Further, the report showed that Indians (41 per cent) also feel positive about the future impact of AI on their work, and they (72 per cent) believe AI will have a transformative or significant impact on their work.

A whopping 94 per cent of clinicians in India believe AI can bring significant benefits in clinical activities such as assessing symptoms and identifying conditions or diseases but transparency and quality of content are absolutely integral. While 81 per cent of Indian researchers and clinicians expect to be informed if the tools they use rely on generative AI, 71 per cent expect results to be based on high-quality, trusted sources.

With the advent of AI, understandably so, we stand witness to a transformation of unparalleled magnitude and velocity. The impact of AI is not only profound and unprecedented but also seemingly unpredictable, giving rise to two distinct camps — one characterised by unbridled optimism and the other by unparalleled apprehension.

The exponential growth of AI is poised to usher in sweeping transformations across social, political, economic and military domains, underscoring the urgent need for meticulous preparedness.

Be it to draft emails or generate images, the advent of AI has undoubtedly simplified most of our daily tasks. Today, one can make a presentation using AI, edit pictures using AI-enabled applications, or even create music with the help of AI tools.

Although the fear of job losses due to AI is still ripe, experts suggest joining hands with the technology to improve work efficiency and productivity. Most companies today encourage employees to develop AI skills and use them to their best potential.

Businesses, driven by profit motives, are inclined to leverage technology to streamline operations, reduce costs and enhance efficiency, ultimately bolstering their bottom line. The relentless pursuit of profitability underscores the need for individuals to proactively anticipate and acquire the skills necessary to remain relevant in an increasingly automated and competitive landscape. While fears of automation eroding traditional employment persist, one should recognise the concomitant surge in demand for AI-related roles as well. Having said that, there is an urgent need to understand where AI can be utilised for the betterment of outcomes for the nation.

In fact, according to Randstad’s Workmonitor quarterly pulse survey released recently, Indian employees are more wary of losing their jobs to AI than their counterparts in developed countries like the US, UK, and Germany.

A recent survey by ServiceNow found that India faces a critical need to upskill 1.62 crore workers in AI and automation, creating 4.7 million new jobs in technology by 2027 to meet the nation’s skill deficit.

This transformation is essential, given the potential of AI and automation to contribute up to USD 500 billion to India’s GDP by 2025.

Given that India boasts the world’s largest youth population, with approximately 66 per cent of its total population below the age of 35, and the expansive reservoir of young talent here being predominantly middle class, upskilling the youth and preparing them as the workforce of the future is the need of the hour.

It is important to note that regardless of background or socio-economic status, a student can access a transformative learning experience if the traditional education model is redefined to emphasise making the student successful and not prioritising the success of the institute.

This leads us to the question of whether Generative AI can help train such a large young population. This technology, to say the least, can create personalised learning paths. With modules integrated with AI to optimise outcomes, students can learn better with real-time feedback and take advantage of a more customised learning experience.

Investing in developing AI skills for the youth is an investment in India’s future. A pay-after-placement education model integrated with AI skills can prove to be the magic pill for India to shape a workforce that not only meets the demands of the digital age but leads the way in innovation and progress.

The influence of AI is not limited only to large corporations looking to build a cohesive team; talents can also use the technology in numerous ways to improve their productivity and carve a successful career.

AI-powered tools meticulously analyse your skills and experience, matching them to vast job databases. These tools go beyond simple keyword searches, understanding the nuances of your capabilities and identifying opportunities perfectly aligned with your strengths, leading to greater career fulfilment.

AI also automates repetitive tasks, freeing up time for talents to focus on their core strengths like creativity, problem-solving, and human connection. This synergy between human talent and AI is shaping the future of product development, leading to groundbreaking solutions across various industries.

Facilitating a transformation in the Indian tech landscape – from building teams to managing operations — even businesses are embracing the technology to unlock innovation, overcome hindrances and emerge as global leaders.

Artificial Intelligence’s escalating integration into the professional sphere is clearly signalling a transformative shift in the employment landscape.

This balance is not just a theoretical ideal but it is now a practical necessity. Several studies have suggested that with 88 per cent of employees in India ready to welcome AI with open arms, there is a potent demand for clarity on how it is employed within their roles. Studies emphasise the necessity for organisations not only to adopt AI but also to do so transparently, educating their workforce on the benefits and the mechanics of AI technologies.

Views expressed are personal