Leaders warn of workforce disruption but argue India must prioritise productivity expansion and large-scale upskilling over fear-driven cost cutting
Artificial intelligence will disrupt India’s job market—but whether it triggers mass unemployment or fuels the next wave of economic expansion will depend on how policymakers and industry leaders respond.
That was the broad consensus among founders speaking to Firstpost at the India AI Impact Summit, where optimism about AI’s potential was tempered by candid acknowledgement of workforce disruption.
“100% AI will take away jobs,” said Raj K Gopalakrishnan, CEO and Co-Founder of KOGO AI. “But it will also create new categories of jobs. Whether the total number displaced and created balance out—that’s something only the future can answer.”
His remarks reflect a growing realism in India’s AI ecosystem. Unlike earlier technology waves that largely augmented productivity, generative AI and automation systems are now capable of performing entire task chains traditionally executed by human workers.
Cost cutting vs growth strategy
The sharper debate, however, centred on how companies choose to deploy AI.
“The basic reason for a company to exist is to grow, not just cut costs,” Raj argued. “Instead of doing the same work with fewer people, why not do five times the work with the same people?”
In other words, AI can either be used as a blunt instrument for workforce reduction or as a lever to scale output, revenue and market reach.
Angad Ahluwalia of Arinox AI added that enterprises increasingly measure “revenue per employee” as a key metric in the AI era. Rather than eliminating roles, many organisations aim to multiply individual productivity.
The growth-versus-retrenchment lens, founders argued, will shape India’s employment trajectory.
Yet not all leaders downplayed disruption risks.
Raoul Nanavati, Founder and CEO of Navana.ai, whose firm deploys AI voice agents across the BFSI sector, acknowledged that automation will directly impact high-volume service roles.
“There’s no denying that job profiles across customer service, design, development—everything—will change dramatically,” Nanavati said. “We need external off-ramps. Regulation, reskilling and national-level preparation are critical.”
Nanavati stressed that the transition must be managed at a policy level. “A lot of work is being done on building AI. Not enough is being done on preparing people for what happens next,” he said.
Human in the loop
Founders also emphasised that AI systems in India will continue to require “human in the loop” oversight—particularly in decision-making, compliance and ethics.
“AI will do the ‘what’. Humans will determine the ‘why’,” Raj said, arguing that roles in governance, auditing, compliance and ethical review are likely to expand.
Leaders from Beyond Key echoed concerns around skill gaps. Growth Manager Ananya Sharma warned that workforce competitiveness will increasingly depend on AI fluency.
“If individuals and organisations don’t adopt AI, they will be left behind,” he said, adding that AI readiness is rapidly becoming non-negotiable in sectors ranging from manufacturing to logistics and financial services.
India enters the AI transition with both advantage and vulnerability. Its young workforce and digital public infrastructure provide a strong base for adoption. At the same time, large-scale displacement without adequate reskilling could strain social and economic systems.
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