AI will not cut jobs but create different kind of jobs: Intel India head

As many as 50 billion devices (like phones, smart TVs, smart refrigerators) would be connected by 2020

Dismissing the argument that Artificial Intelligence would lead to job losses, a technology expert today said it would in fact create different ones.

"Many people argue that with the advent of Artificial Intelligence, our people will lose jobs. No. I do not believe we will lose jobs, we will create different kind of jobs," Nivruti Rai, Country Head, Intel India, said here.

Artificial Intelligence does jobs which are repetitive in nature, where humans tend to make mistakes, and also where a lot of memory is required, she said, speaking at an event jointly organised by FICCI and the Telangana government.

"Who will identify where can AI be leveraged? It's us. But, that technology is absolutely critical, because everything that we do, use, wear is going to become smarter tomorrow and impact the lives, including our health," she said.

Predicting that as many as 50 billion devices (like phones, smart TVs, smart refrigerators) would be connected by 2020, she said 5G would be essential technology to make it a reality.

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"It is important because the amount of data that will be floating in the air tomorrow is going to be so much that your 4G LTE technology will fail," she said.

It is important to re-skill oneself to rise above Artificial Intelligence rather than worrying about what AI will do, Rai said.

Noting that India is at the cusp of digital transformation, she wondered which other country can boast of the digital identity of more than one billion people stored with Aadhaar.

"We have all kinds of digital information...What we together collectively have to do, is to leverage this generation of digitisation and see how can we empower our citizens," she said.

Indian IT firms to generate fewer jobs in next 6 months: Report

Professionals asked to upskill themselves as the industry gradually turns to automation

Indian IT services companies would create fewer jobs over the next couple of quarters as more companies are focusing on shifting towards digital technologies, said a survey report released by human resource firm ManpowerGroup on Tuesday.

The report, Experis IT Employment Outlook Survey, stated that 50 per cent of the IT services companies expressed their interest to hire people during the period between October 2017 and March 2018, since the industry is re-inventing itself to automate a lot of processes using artificial intelligence and machine-learning technology.

In fact, the survey report said India would see pink slips being handed over to an increased number of senior-level professionals across Indian IT firms, on account of digitisation and a surge in recruitment of junior and mid-level professionals.

A slower job growth in the $154-billion services industry is, however, in stark contrast to other sectors in the country and captive IT units of global businesses will hire more people during this period, said the report, which surveyed around 500 Indian IT employers.

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The industry has been witnessing a slowdown in traditional software maintenance services- a segment that has been acting as a core revenue generator for nearly three decades now. The slowdown was attributed to the increased demand of digital technology-based services on the part of the businesses.

“Net layoffs that are being contemplated by the IT giants are way higher than what the Indian IT industry has ever witnessed and this trend is likely to continue for the next 6-12 months,” said ManpowerGroup India.

IT professionals should look for opportunities to upskill themselves during this period, noted the report.

“Today technologies continue to rapidly shape the business landscape. A rise in new enabling technologies, such as software as a service (SaaS) offerings and cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, along with artificial intelligence’s (AI) unprecedented speed, accuracy and cost efficiency are significant in terms of maintaining a competitive edge that are driving businesses now. (more)