Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran has stated that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is poised to have a far more profound and extensive impact on the global labour market compared to earlier technological revolutions. This is because AI simultaneously targets both cognitive and skill-based jobs, making it uniquely disruptive.
AI's Dual Impact on Employment
In an exclusive conversation with ANI, Nageswaran explained that while technological change has historically disrupted certain employment categories, AI represents a more complex transition. Unlike previous shifts that primarily affected routine or manual tasks, AI has the potential to reshape knowledge-based professions as well. This raises concerns across various sectors, including IT services, research, content creation, and analysis.
“AI can be more disruptive because it is coming for both cognitive and skill-based jobs,” Nageswaran said. He emphasized that the speed and scale of AI diffusion will determine its real-world impact on employment.
Fear Outpaces Facts
However, the CEA cautioned against overstating the immediate threat. “Right now, there is far too much fear and far too little information about the AI threat,” he noted. He argued that much of the global narrative around AI-driven job losses is influenced by investment cycles and hype rather than grounded labour market evidence.
Nageswaran pointed out that while some entry-level and routine tasks in sectors such as coding and data processing may be affected, history shows that technological revolutions often lead to job transformation rather than mass unemployment. Previous waves of automation, including computerisation and ATM deployment, were expected to eliminate jobs but ultimately expanded productivity and created new categories of work.
Productivity Gains and Human Augmentation
Nageswaran further highlighted that AI is already demonstrating productivity gains in sectors such as healthcare, education, and radiology. In these fields, AI is augmenting human capability rather than fully replacing professionals. In several cases, demand for skilled professionals has even increased as efficiency improves.
At the same time, he acknowledged that certain fears among young professionals are understandable given the rapid evolution of AI tools and their integration into workplaces. He said the challenge for policymakers is to ensure that education and skilling systems evolve in tandem with technological change.
India's Long-Term Advantage
On the adaptation of the new technology, the CEA said India's long-term advantage will depend on its ability to build a workforce equipped with new-age skills, including trade skills and domain expertise that are less easily replaced by machines.
He underscored that while AI will be disruptive, its impact will depend on how societies choose to integrate and regulate it, rather than the technology alone.
