New Delhi. Information Technology (IT) Secretary S. Krishnan has said that the risk to knowledge-based or office jobs due to artificial intelligence (AI) is less in India than in western countries. This is because the share of office jobs in India's total workforce is relatively low and is dominated by science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) based jobs.
The apprehensions regarding India are exaggerated
In an exclusive interview to PTI, Krishnan said that the concerns being raised about the impact of AI on employment should not be viewed with the same intensity in the Indian context. He pointed out that India has fewer office-based jobs compared to Western economies, so the threat of AI to cognitive or knowledge-based tasks remains limited.
More opportunities in STEM fields
The IT Secretary said that most of the office jobs in India are related to STEM fields, which create new opportunities rather than risks in the era of AI. "The number of office jobs in India is less compared to other sectors. So the impact of AI here will not be as severe as seen in other countries," he said.
Affects mental work, not physical labour.
According to Krishnan, AI is the first technology that can primarily impact knowledge-based workers and cognitive labour. In earlier industrial revolutions, machines had mostly replaced manual labor, not mental work.
human labor will not end
However, he rejected the notion that AI will completely eliminate the need for human workers in the near future. He believes that the real impact of AI will be in enhancing human capabilities, allowing people to perform their analytical tasks more efficiently and productively.
'Hallucination' still a big challenge
The IT Secretary also said that false or misleading information from AI, called 'hallucinations', still remains a major challenge. Therefore, human intervention will remain necessary for a long time to monitor and verify AI generated content.
New possibilities for employment generation
Krishnan pointed out that AI systems require large computing capacity and model building to operate, which is typically handled by small but highly skilled groups of professionals. Although this process is capital-intensive, its impact on employment remains limited. The real employment opportunities will arise from the development and deployment of use-based AI applications, where a large number of trained professionals will be needed.
India's strong position at the global level
He said that India can play an important role in the use and deployment of AI not only for its domestic needs but also at the global level. The indigenous AI application model being developed by the government is expected to be ready before the AI summit scheduled in February next year, which could give a fresh impetus to job creation and economic growth.
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