Nearly 79 percent of Indian Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) say Artificial Intelligence is creating new job roles that did not exist a few years ago, according to new research from LinkedIn. The report also highlights that 84 percent of tech leaders believe their role is being actively redefined in real time as technology adoption accelerates.
Skill-Building and Future Readiness
LinkedIn's research reveals that 92 percent of executives state continuous skill-building is essential to keep pace with these changes. The evolution of the CTO role is shifting focus heavily toward future readiness, with 93 percent of leaders indicating that their responsibilities now center on helping organizations adapt to future ways of working.
Malai Lakshmanan, Head of India Engineering at LinkedIn, said, "With over 9 in 10 Indian CTOs acknowledging that their role has shifted toward helping organisations adapt to the future of work, technology leadership today extends far beyond managing systems and infrastructure."
Collaboration Between Tech and HR
To manage this transition, 51 percent of leaders view a stronger partnership between tech and human resource departments as the most critical factor in building an effective workforce. Currently, 89 percent of respondents report working closely with their human resource counterparts. This collaboration aims at driving innovation, which 91 percent of executives identify as the primary outcome of their technology investments.
Lakshmanan added, "As AI adoption moves from experimentation to scale, success depends as much on people as it does on technology. Employees need the skills and confidence to make AI part of how they work every day, which is why closer collaboration between CTOs and talent leaders has become essential."
Strategic Challenges in Rapid Deployment
However, rapid deployment brings strategic difficulties. Nearly 79 percent of tech leaders state their role is changing faster than their company can make decisions. Meanwhile, 56 percent identify balancing long-term technological transformation with short-term performance demands as a primary leadership challenge.
Additionally, 81 percent of executives report facing pressure to move faster on implementation than they can effectively measure its impact. This rapid expansion is reflected in broader talent trends, with roles like Prompt Engineer and AI Engineer emerging as the fastest-growing positions in the country.
Maintaining Employee Trust
Amid these shifting responsibilities, maintaining employee trust has emerged as the most common challenge introduced to executive decision-making. Lakshmanan noted, "The organisations that create the most value from AI will be those that invest as heavily in workforce readiness and continuous learning as they do in technology."
