AI will increase productivity and cause job losses; individuals must retrain in order to be prepared: N. Chandrasekaran

TCS Chairman N Chandrasekaran said, "We have to actively embrace it to reskill people and prepare them to embrace the change."

On May 31, N Chandrasekaran, the chairman of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), said that generative AI and artificial intelligence (AI) may cause job losses in certain fields that are automating and increasing efficiency.

He emphasized that the best course of action is to retrain staff members and have them ready to accept this change. At the 29th annual general meeting (AGM) of the biggest software services exporter in the nation, Chandrasekaran gave a speech.

His remarks coincide with those made a month ago by TCS's CEO and MD, K Krithivasan, who said in a Financial Times interview that the advancement of AI would result in a decline in the need for contact centers, which will have an effect on the sector both in Asia and beyond.

During the AGM, Chandrasekaran responded to questions from shareholders by saying, "In certain areas, AI and Gen AI will automate stuff that will result in higher productivity and job losses." However, in other situations, AI will need much more expertise, and many more employment in certain fields, such as data management, will be generated. It's a mixed bag, and we must actively embrace it in order to reskill people and get them ready for the shift.

However, Krithivasan had previously said in February that AI and generative AI will just alter the way the massive IT services company trains its staff, not result in fewer hires or job displacement.

Chandrasekaran believes that generative AI would have an influence on all industries, including B2B and consumer. However, customers will "feel the power of AI in a way personalization happens because the experience is better delivered to them no matter whether it is in financial services, healthcare services, insurance products, retail etc.," meaning the influence on the consumer sector will be much more noticeable.

"In B2B, supply chain visibility, real-time visibility, data collection, analytics, and the way AI changes that will be significant," he said.

Additionally, Chandrasekaran said that the Tata Group is working on at least 100 generative AI projects at any one time.

During the Q4FY24 earnings call, Krithivasan said that TCS has over 200 AI engagements this year and is working on $900 million worth of AI and generative AI projects.

Chandrasekaran said that moving ahead, AI and generative AI technologies are anticipated to have an influence on every industry and nation in the company's annual report, which was released on May 9.

"In the future, GenAI technology will affect almost every industry and nation. Businesses have already made investments in data centers, cloud computing, and powerful processing capacity to support AI and GenAI. Regarding the effects of generative AI, he said, "GenAI will not only increase productivity but also create impact we have not yet seen or imagined."

He had also emphasized that the global macro-outlook has begun to improve in FY25, after two years of recessionary worries and rising inflation.

"The international macro-outlook looks relatively better now having improving growth, disinflation, including monetary easing in sight, after two years of recessionary fears, persistently high inflation, as well as unprecedented monetary tightening," he said.

Even while there are some early indications of calm, he is nonetheless cautious about the military confrontations that have been more intense this year and are still having an influence on global supply networks.

According to TCS, a number of megatrends are influencing corporate goals worldwide and affecting many sectors. AI, new energy, supply chain, and talent are a few of them.