Narayana Murthy On AI Job Loss Fears: 'World Will Not End For The Smart And The Hard-Working'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) In recent months, several technology entrepreneurs and senior executives have raised concerns about the potential impact of rapid AI integratio on the workforce, particularly in India, which adds millions of young people to its labour pool every year.

Industry leaders have warned that while artificial intelligence offers increased productivity and cost efficiencies, it could also disrupt entry-level and routine white-collar roles at a scale that would affect multiple sectors and roles.

In a recent interview with Moneycontrol at IIM Bengaluru, the founder of Infosys and Catamaran Ventures, NR Narayana Murthy, addressed concerns over whether white-collar jobs are at risk from AI, particularly in the IT services industry, a key source of employment and wealth creation for engineers.

Here’s what he said

Responding to the query, Murthy said,“My own experiments with using generative AI for productivity have shown me that a smarter mind will get better quality and better level of productivity from using these assistive technologies.”

He added that there is no need for youngsters to get worried. Instead, they should try to become masters of these technologies by using them in an“assistive manner”, Murthy said.

“By quickly learning how to use these technologies for their own benefit, by smart and hard work, by quickly learning new ideas and by discipline. So, the world will not end for the smart and the hard-working,” he told Moneycontrol.

What did other leaders say?

Meanwhile, Vinod Khosla, the founder of Khosla Ventures and an early-stage investor in OpenAI, said earlier that India’s outsourcing services are likely to“die out” over the next five years, as artificial intelligence automates most software programming and quality engineering tasks.

In a separate interview with HT, he also predicted that along with IT services, BPOs are also at risk of“completely disappearing” within the next five years due to technological advancement. He further noted that AI would wipe out most expertise-based professions within the next 15 years.

** Also Read** | Vinod Khosla predicts AI will kill Indian IT sector in five years ** Also Read** | Infosys shares fall over 20% in Feb, set for worst monthly drop in 13 years

However, some industry experts have contrasting views about the future of AI integration. One such take on the issue was given by Devina Mehra, the founder and CMD of asset management firm First Global, who posted earlier that past patterns show technology creates new jobs even while it disrupts the status quo.

“At least 50-70% of the tasks that Indian bankers were doing in the early 80s have been automated. On a static basis it would have appeared that the bulk of banking jobs would disappear… But the employment in banking has gone up, not down!” she said, using the banking sector as a reference.

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