AI Is Changing Jobs—But Not The Way You Think

The rise of artificial intelligence has triggered concerns about job losses, but evidence suggests AI is reshaping work rather than eliminating it. AI, if not smarter, is undeniably faster, leading to widespread fears of automation taking over human roles. However, research and industry experts argue that AI is here to complement human labour, not replace it.

At the AI Action Summit in France, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “We are at the dawn of the AI age that will shape the course of humanity.” His remarks reflect the global push toward AI integration while acknowledging the anxiety surrounding its impact on jobs.

Carolin Blais from MIT School of Engineering questioned AI’s creative limitations, asking, “Scientists in Germany have trained computers to paint in the style of Van Gogh and Picasso, and the computers’ images aren’t all that bad. But, is teaching a machine to mimic creativity true creativity?” This highlights a fundamental distinction—AI can replicate tasks, but true creativity remains human-led.

A McKinsey Digital report—Superagency in the Workplace: Empowering People to Unlock AI’s Full Potential—revealed that employees are adopting AI tools faster than their leaders realise. It found that three times more employees use generative AI for a third or more of their work than managers expect. The report valued AI’s long-term productivity impact at $4.4 trillion and noted, “A.I. now is like the internet many years ago: The risk for business leaders is not thinking too big, but rather too small.”

McKinsey’s research also found that 92% of companies plan to increase their AI investments over the next three years. The shift isn’t just about automation—it’s about using AI to enhance productivity, streamline workflows, and unlock new business opportunities.

The International Monetary Fund echoed this in its paper Gen-AI: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work, stating, “If A.I. strongly complements human labor in certain occupations and the productivity gains are sufficiently large, higher growth and labor demand could more than compensate for the partial replacement of labor tasks by A.I., and incomes could increase along most of the income distribution.” AI-related skills, including proficiency in tools like ChatGPT, are now in demand across industries.

At Davos 2025, Nara Lokesh, Minister for Human Resource Development, IT, Electronics & Communications, and Real-Time Governance, Government of Andhra Pradesh, told NDTV, “AI will not reduce jobs but it will instead reduce the order of jobs.” He said new roles will emerge in areas yet to be explored, and integrating AI into education and workforce training can drive economic growth.

However, AI’s adoption is not without consequences. Studies suggest that higher-wage earners stand to benefit more, potentially widening income inequality. Developed economies, with their focus on cognitive-task-oriented jobs and advanced digital infrastructure, are better positioned to leverage AI’s potential than emerging markets.

India is actively working to integrate AI into its economy. The government allocated Rs 500 crore in this year’s budget for a Centre of Excellence in AI for education. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who had once dismissed India’s AI progress as “hopeless,” recently acknowledged the country’s rapid advancements and its push for an indigenous AI model.

Despite concerns over automation, AI is expected to create opportunities in energy, healthcare, and financial services, according to Nigel Vaz, CEO of Publicis Sapient. “AI is going to be embedded in every single aspect of transformation. We are moving from human action-driven processes to more agentic architectures, where digital and physical workforces operate together,” Vaz told NDTV at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He said AI would take over repetitive tasks, freeing workers to focus on higher-value roles.

Vaz also highlighted a shift from software as a service to services as software, where AI platforms generate software dynamically based on real-time needs. “Software is now able to create opportunities in the services space, producing outcomes that were previously unattainable. Companies are moving from deploying software products to creating AI-driven platforms that generate software on demand,” he said.

AI is changing the nature of work. It is not about machines replacing humans but about humans learning to work alongside them. The challenge lies not in stopping AI but in adapting to its inevitable integration.