Artificial Intelligence is about skill transformation, not job loss: TCS Global AI Head-OxBig News Network

New Delhi, Apr 27 (PTI) Artificial Intelligence (AI) will spur creation of new technologies, reshaping the nature of work, Ashok Krish, Global Head of AI at TCS, said, emphasising that it should be viewed as a catalyst for skills transformation, not seen through the lens of threat to jobs.

Krish told PTI in an interview true high-value implementations are happening in companies that see AI not as an IT project but as a board-level transformation priority.

AI, he said, is not just a technological shift, rather a cultural transformation that requires changing how people work alongside such implementations.

The last three decades have witnessed repeated waves of disruptive technologies — from mainframes to the internet, to e-commerce, digital, and cloud, each shift sparking fears and, at times, “scaremongering” about future prospects.

Looking at the broader trend, he said, AI is just the next evolution, one that will ultimately lead to more technology being built, as it simplifies the entire process.

“So I think it’s wrong to look at it through the lens of job loss and it is more an opportunity to transform skill,” he said.

If geopolitical and macro upheavals would impact the pace of AI adoption, he said economic ups and downs are cyclical, and not new, and added that AI’s unique because it is inherently self-reinforcing.

“Disruptive technologies tend to have a way of adapting. Because particularly what happens with AI is that progress in AI exponentially improves progress in AI. It is very self-referential in that sense,” he said.

Going forward, AI will expand the amount of tech that exists, but the nature of work done will be different.

“It is possible that what used to take a hundred people in a project might only take 50… but the nature of what they do will change and therefore we will do several more projects… new services will merge,” he said.

He noted that in the tech industry, there’s a constant need to reassess the relevance of one’s skills, and invest time in upskilling using the available tools. Now, with AI tools, the entire process is becoming significantly faster and more efficient.

According to Krish, AI is the single biggest technology disruption in the last decade, potentially even in human history.

“It’s broadly a democratisation of access to knowledge and skill. And eventually, I think that combined with humanoid robotics will bring about a massive change in society and companies at large,” he said.

On the trends in AI adoption, he said started as small proof-of-concept projects in industries like life sciences, healthcare, insurance, and financial services just 18 months ago has now evolved — today, no major deal happens without AI.

“I think AI is pretty much everything, it is infused into everything that we do at TCS. Be it business process services, IT, infrastructure services, cloud, cyber security, there is AI everywhere. Not just in terms of productivity improvements but also agentic automation with AI agents,” he said.

Industries like banking, financial services, insurance, healthcare, life sciences have been quick to adopt AI, and its use, particularly in areas such as drug discovery, have been quite groundbreaking, Krish observed.

“Manufacturing and high tech industries are also not far behind now. While a lot of initial spend happened in banking, financial services, healthcare, life sciences but other industries are catching up now,” Krish said.