AI job-loss fears are ‘hogwash’, says Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani

Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani has dismissed fears that artificial intelligence will eliminate jobs, arguing that while AI is automating tasks such as coding, it will create demand for new skills and more work in enterprise transformation.

Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi on Tuesday, the 71-year-old technology veteran said businesses would need people to oversee AI deployment, manage risks and help organisations adapt to the technology. The idea that AI will displace human workers is “hogwash,” he said.

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Nilekani’s optimism contrasts with warnings from other leaders about AI’s impact on employment. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has described AI as a “slow-moving tsunami” for the labour market. Nilekani, one of Infosys’ seven co-founders, expects new roles to emerge around making AI systems safe and reliable.

New opportunities will also arise from understanding clients’ needs and helping teams work together, he added.

The comments come as India's large IT services companies, including Infosys, face questions about their traditional business model, which has relied heavily on engineering graduates writing software for global clients. More capable AI models from companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic are increasingly automating programming tasks. Nilekani acknowledged that coding was “getting automated”, but argued that it accounts for only a fraction of the work involved in services projects.

The prospect of AI-driven job losses is “all disaster marketing to suit the interests of large capital,” Nilekani said. He argued that demand for companies such as Infosys could increase as businesses rethink how they operate.

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“The requirement for companies like Infosys or others is actually more than ever before because the transformation of enterprise is a very complex activity, and AI requires you to fundamentally reimagine the way you do business.”

“We are going to see only more work coming our way,” Nilekani said. “Of course, individual companies will have to get their act together. They’ll have to transform themselves, reskill their workers, build new capabilities. All that is true, but this will only mean more things to be done.”