World looks more complex outside echo chambers of AI: ESET global CEO

Richard Marko, global CEO of cybersecurity firm ESET, has warned against viewing artificial intelligence as an all-consuming force. Speaking on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit, he said India is emerging as both a high-growth market and a deep talent pool for the company.

Describing India as "probably the fastest major economy in the world," he pointed to its strong universities and steady pipeline of engineers as key strategic advantages. ESET is expanding its presence in the country and is considering the possibility of setting up a research and development centre here.

That grounded outlook on India is part of a broader worldview Marko brings to the AI conversation. Reflecting on his time at the summit, he offered a telling observation. "When you spend hours in a summit like this, then you believe that AI is everything," he said, "but then you go out and you realise that the world is more complex than just AI."


On the question of whether cybersecurity might suffer in the rush toward AI, Marko said the real concern lies in how the technology is being weaponised against human behaviour. He argued that AI has made people even more vulnerable because humans were always considered the weakest link in cybersecurity. "AI is able to create stories that we tend to believe and follow and click and do actions that we shouldn't do," he said.

At the same time, he framed the evolving landscape as a contest between intelligent systems on both sides. "At the end of the day, it is AI versus AI," he agreed. ESET itself has relied on artificial intelligence in its detection engines for more than two decades. "We are receiving a huge amount of data that needs to be analysed, and this is where AI is very helpful and necessary, because AI and a lot of data, that's the mix that works," he said. Even so, Marko stressed that automation does not eliminate the need for human oversight. "We can't think about AI that just exists on its own. There are always some people in the background that are shaping what the AI is doing," he said.

He noted that threat actors are already using the same tools. He cited the example of Android malware that used a model to embed itself more persistently in devices. "The malware is asking AI, what are the steps that I should take to become persistent on the device," he explained, adding that this was helpful for the malware but "not very helpful for the victim."

Marko also urged caution around autonomous AI agents making payment or commerce decisions. He said the psychological issue is that people do not fully understand how AI works. "It communicates so nicely, it looks like it has its own kind of consciousness, but it is just a computer, it just follows some steps, even though it looks intelligent," he said. "AI doesn't consider the consequences of what it suggests, so we shouldn't let AI make decisions on our behalf."

On jobs, he acknowledged that some roles will disappear but struck a pragmatic note. "I think it is going to transform the job market," he said. He pointed out that while AI can create art, programme machines, and drive cars to some extent, it still cannot do simpler things like clean your house. "Some of those more advanced jobs might be more in danger right now than the most simple ones," he said, adding that he remains quite optimistic about the future.