The fear that artificial intelligence (AI) will permanently destroy jobs is a recurring theme with every major technological shift, from mechanization to the internet. However, the real culprit behind job displacement isn't the technology itself, but the decisions made by business leaders. This is the central argument put forth by Ravi Venkatesan, former chairman of Microsoft India, in a compelling perspective published on 25 December 2025.
The Short-Sighted Cost-Cutting Approach
Venkatesan asserts that the current wave of AI adoption is being led by a crude and unimaginative mindset focused solely on cost reduction. He draws a sharp parallel: "Guns don't kill people; people do. AI doesn't destroy jobs; CEOs do." Many executives, he notes, are using AI as a blunt instrument—a chainsaw—to automate roles, announce layoffs as "efficiency gains," and watch stock prices rise.
This short-term strategy, however, carries a heavy long-term cost. The piece highlights the case of fintech firm Klarna, which initially celebrated replacing thousands of customer service agents with AI, only to later acknowledge a decline in customer experience and the need to rebuild human support. This pattern of aggressive automation followed by a quiet reversal hollows out organizational capability and erodes trust.
The Twin Crises of Careless AI Deployment
According to Venkatesan, deploying AI carelessly triggers two simultaneous crises. Internally, it shatters employee trust. When workers see AI primarily as a job-destruction tool, fear replaces initiative, and creativity is stifled. The most adaptable and talented employees, whom companies need most, become disengaged or leave.
Externally, it creates a societal crisis. Large-scale job displacement without adequate reskilling, redeployment, or dignity deepens inequality and fuels political and economic backlash. AI, in this context, simply accelerates the negative consequences previously seen with globalization and automation.
Blueprint for Responsible AI: Empowering the Workforce
Fortunately, the article provides examples of companies charting a more sustainable and human-centric path. These organizations view AI not as a substitute for people, but as an enabler for higher-value work.
IKEA uses AI to support frontline staff by improving personalization and inventory accuracy, freeing employees for more meaningful customer interactions. Schneider Electric embeds AI into engineers' and managers' workflows as a "force multiplier" for human expertise, boosting efficiency and innovation.
In the banking sector, DBS paired automation with large-scale reskilling, ensuring AI replaced tasks, not people. This approach has been pivotal in building one of Asia's most resilient banks. Similarly, Zoho has developed advanced AI capabilities while focusing on internal talent development and job creation, even in smaller towns, proving long-term competitiveness doesn't require periodic layoffs.
Venkatesan emphasizes that these companies are not being charitable but strategically smart. They build sustainable advantage through a culture of trust and enhanced capabilities, where employees feel empowered by technology, not threatened.
The core message is a call to action for leadership. Boards and CEOs must move beyond asking, "How many jobs can we automate?" to more profound questions: How can AI make our people dramatically more effective? How do we reskill at scale? How do we deploy AI to strengthen trust with employees and society?
Using AI responsibly requires imagination, patience, and moral courage—resisting the temptation of headline-grabbing layoffs for genuine, long-term capability building. The ultimate measure of leadership, Venkatesan concludes, will not be how much was automated, but how much people were uplifted.
