The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Employment in India

Photo by fauxels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-and-woman-near-table-3184465/

 

India with its 1.43 billion people is now inarguably the most populous nation in the world.[1] Of these 68%[2] (or about 970 million people) are in the working age of 15 to 64 years of age. The unemployment rate stood at 6.6% in 2021-22.  As many as a whopping 42% of India’s graduates under 25 were unemployed in the same period.[3]

Does the advent of AI-encompassing technologies like Generative AI threaten to inflate this number to catastrophic proportions? What does the future hold for India's unemployed millions (35 million in both 2021 and 2022)?[4] In a world of global uncertainties and changing power dynamics as well as realigning global supply chains, the state of the Indian economy and by extension its ability to provide gainful employment to millions of people of working age is an area of pressing concern.

The rollout of AI in India is in its initial stages but has nevertheless significantly affected employment in some sectors on account of its ability to automate several routine tasks. At the same time, it has created new opportunities in AI-related job functions. According to CNBC outsourced coders based out of India are slated to lose their jobs in about two years.[5] That may sound worrisome, but on the other hand, a survey conducted by the leading job site Indeed found that Indian companies and employers hold a positive outlook on the impact of AI on jobs. As many as 85% of the Indian companies who participated in the survey believed that AI would impact the job scene positively in the short term (next 5 years).[6]

This is borne out by the fact that the advent of AI has led to the creation of a whole host of opportunities in engineering, data science and machine learning, putting a huge premium on people possessing the required skill set. World Economic Forum assumes that AI will create 12 million more jobs for people than the ones it will displace. India is fortuitously placed to capitalize on it because it is home to 416000 AI professionals (August 2023 figures) against a demand of about 629000 such people. This figure is likely to hit 1 million by 2026 if one goes by a report by the Wheebox National Employability Test.[7]

Cause for anxiety

The promise of availability of plentiful employment across the short-term horizon notwithstanding there is genuine anxiety amongst employees and job seekers in the country about the impact of AI on their future prospects. These pertain to the need for them to reskill or upskill to stay relevant. Then there is the ever-present gnawing fear of facing redundancy on account of the adoption of AI.

For instance, the launch of Chat GPT in November 2022 made a whole host of professionals across the spectrum ranging from programmers and financial advisors to accountants and legal assistants fear for their jobs. People would naturally feel alarmed when leading financial institutions like Goldman Sachs anticipate AI impacting if not altogether eliminating as many as 300 million jobs.[8]

Conclusion

Viewed objectively, the adoption of AI by businesses in India will require some realignment regarding roles and the need for reskilling but will end up creating way more opportunities than any marginal displacements. It opens up huge opportunities for savvy entrepreneurs to leverage it to offer way better products and offer far more efficient services. Doing so will create more employment not just by way of AI professionals needing to be deployed, but also by creating whole new categories of products and services, that one can't even conceive of right now.

When computers first arrived on the scene people thought that banks would stop hiring people, but the sector realigned itself and expanded like never before, giving rise to the fintech industry that is revolutionizing banking services in ways not thought possible in the past. The future is bound to be good for the youth of this country- Artificial Intelligence will ensure that it is so.

---

[1] https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/india-population/

[2] [2] https://www.businesstoday.in/india-at-100/story/inclusive-india-2047-empowering-the-demographic-dividend-395359-2023-08-24

 

[3] https://indianexpress.com/article/business/42-3-of-graduates-under-25-unemployed-finds-latest-state-of-working-india-report-8949124/

[4] https://www.newindianexpress.com/web-only/2023/Jul/29/the-19-million-plus-question-has-finding-a-job-in-india-gotten-harder-or-easier-2599577.html

[5] https://www.businesstoday.in/technology/news/story/ai-will-take-away-jobs-of-outsourced-coders-in-india-in-next-2-years-stability-ai-ceo-390384-2023-07-19

[6] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/mid-career/ai-to-have-positive-short-term-impact-on-jobs-finds-global-survey/articleshow/104471561.cms?from=mdr

[7] https://www.livemint.com/ai/artificial-intelligence/ai-in-india-jobs-evolved-not-erased-opportunity-and-reskilling-key-experts-claim-11703326684794.html

[8] https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/ai-anxiety-workers-fret-over-uncertain-future/article67157022.ece

How To Save Your Job From A Robot?

Just a few years back an article like this would sound like the title of a sci-fi story, but most will agree that this is a scenario most people would have worried about at some point or the other.  The way that automation, driven by relentless technological change and advancement  has made jobs redundant across industries is a specter that is all too real for people, to not worry about it.

“Where are we headed? Are there going to be any jobs left for humans to do at all?

When people like Bill Gates suggest that robots that take away people’s jobs should be subject to a tax, you and I cannot be blamed for worrying about the future of human employment. But wait a second-are things really as bad as they seem? Some experts actually believe that unbridled automation and advances in robotics will lead to the creation of newer jobs. After all someone is required to build and manage the robots, they argue.

In any case, there is no doubt about the fact that you do need to do something about the situation, even if it means acquiring new skills that will ensure your employability in a world swarming with robots! Not exactly, but you know what I mean. Maybe, you should take some steps to save your job from a robot. Here’s what these might be: 

1.  Know Your Enemy- If you can’t beat them join them! Well, at least try to understand the threat that you face from them. If you are an Uber driver in the US, you might be genuinely concerned about driver-less cars rendering you jobless in a few years’ time. On the other hand, if you are an Uber driver in India, no way are driver-less car  a threat to one’s livelihood,  for another decade and a half, given the state of the roads and traffic here!

You may even want to turn around the situation to your advantage. Say you are a marketing manager who needs to enhance business generation in a hurry. You may want to leverage technology and create an automated lead funnel by optimizing your online customer outreach. So rather than technology taking away your job, it may provide it with a fresh lease of life.

 2. Revel In Being Human- This may appear counter intuitive, but this may be the best way to ensure that the robots never take away your job.  You have got to remember that robots are created by human to serve humans. So enhance an inherently human skill, that a robot will find difficult to replicate. This is usually possible in  distinctly human realms.

For instance a robot might provide a technical resolution to a problem, but it lacks the human interface which becomes a problem in managing customer relationships. That’s an opportunity for customer service personnel with superior people management skills. Alternatively,  take the case of content creation, writing and translation. Though there already is software that can perform some of those tasks, it is clearly not the same thing.

Human beings need a philosophy of life in order to be happily successful. That cannot come from robots. You can’t have a robot CEO manage the strategic affairs of a company!

3.  Use The Robots- Remember that robots are nothing more than tools and machines to help you accomplish goals with greater efficiency and in the process provide you more quality leisure time. When the automobile was invented mankind didn’t fear that their legs would atrophy. Instead, they learnt to drive the damn thing and achieve far greater mobility than their own legs ever gave them.

There is nothing that stops one from acquiring the skills required to leverage the benefits offered by new age technologies like robotics, the Internet of Things, Augmented Reality and all the other wonderful stuff that we keep hearing about.  Don’t fear robots. Welcome them to your life. If anything they will only add value to it.

Human beings have a tremendous capacity to absorb new technology in their lives and become the better for it. There was similar fear and consternation among workers when the industrial revolution was around the corner. But everything worked out quite alright and nobody any more insists that we go back to the ear of horse drawn carriages and chicken pox!

4.    Math and Science Are Important- Remember that much of the job creation in the coming years is going to be in the high technology realm. The inexorable growth in the use of AI or artificial intelligence will lead to the creation of a slew of jobs requiring the employees to be proficient in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

For instance the expertise of a data scientist is already one of the most in demand skills, on account of the advantages that accrue to companies that can effectively leverage big data. Now this was a job that didn’t even exist not all that many years back!

The only thing that is constant in today’s times is the fact that nothing is constant and static, including keeping pace with technology. With redundancy dogging the heels of every new technology that ever gets invented and implemented, staying not just abreast, but ahead of the curve is the best way to ensure one’s relevance in the job market.

Conclusion- While there will certainly be some jobs lost to technology, there is no danger to humans’ ability to find gainful employment on a mass scale. The world is too large and complex for such a situation to occur.

Besides, like other technologies before it, robotics and AI too will ultimately lead to enhanced efficiency and growth, albeit on an unprecedented scale unprecedented scale. That can hardly be the cause of mass unemployment. On the contrary, there will be whole new categories of jobs being created all the time. Here’s to a brave new world!