Job Loss Due to AI: Meity Secretary Warns of Impact on BPO Sector
By Rediff Money Desk, NEWDELHI Dec 07, 2023 22:37
India's Ministry of Electronics and IT secretary warns of job losses in the BPO sector due to AI advancements, stressing the need for upskilling and creating new opportunities.
New Delhi, Dec 7 (PTI) Traditional jobs in the BPO sector are drying up and it will be naive to be under the impression that there will be no job loss due to the advancement of technology, a senior government official said on Thursday.
While speaking at CII's Global Economic Policy forum, Ministry of Electronics and IT, Secretary S Krishnan in response to a question on the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs said that there will be fear among people but equally skilling will become an important task to help people move up in the value chain.
"We will be naive if we believe that there will be no job losses as a result of new technology. The comparison to the Industrial Revolution is also very apt in that regard. When you had greater mechanization than naturally, jobs were lost and there were many people who were extremely fearful of job losses," he said.
Krishnan said there will be substantial productivity enhancement in certain sectors which will then free up a lot of people.
"I think, then what happens is, what is incumbent on the government and the industry to do is to really upskill a lot of these people so that they can occupy higher level jobs which will also be possibly an outcome of rising incomes and rising aspirations," Krishnan said.
He said that there are many repetitive tasks and many other traditional jobs that can possibly be done significantly faster and effectively by artificial intelligence tools.
"Which means we have to then look for where meaningful jobs will arise, where more personalized services are required. Those are the kinds of jobs where human intervention becomes much more important," Krishnan said.
The Indian job market is estimated to witness 22 per cent churn over the next five years, with top emerging roles coming from AI, machine learning and data segments, according to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs report that was released in May.
Globally, the job market churn is estimated at 23 per cent, with 69 million new jobs expected to be created and 83 million eliminated by 2027.
Krishnan said that there will probably be jobs in the entertainment sector, significant jobs in personal care and a variety of other areas where personal training etc are required, those kinds of occupations which are formerly not so much in the limelight at present.
"We will have to do a detailed study. We will have to see ways in which the higher level jobs really get created. We see it today actually even in the software sector. We see that today as all the many of the traditional BPO jobs are drying up. People are going up the value chain in terms of engineering design, research, jobs of that nature, which pay better, but then you need better skills," Krishnan said.
While speaking at CII's Global Economic Policy forum, Ministry of Electronics and IT, Secretary S Krishnan in response to a question on the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs said that there will be fear among people but equally skilling will become an important task to help people move up in the value chain.
"We will be naive if we believe that there will be no job losses as a result of new technology. The comparison to the Industrial Revolution is also very apt in that regard. When you had greater mechanization than naturally, jobs were lost and there were many people who were extremely fearful of job losses," he said.
Krishnan said there will be substantial productivity enhancement in certain sectors which will then free up a lot of people.
"I think, then what happens is, what is incumbent on the government and the industry to do is to really upskill a lot of these people so that they can occupy higher level jobs which will also be possibly an outcome of rising incomes and rising aspirations," Krishnan said.
He said that there are many repetitive tasks and many other traditional jobs that can possibly be done significantly faster and effectively by artificial intelligence tools.
"Which means we have to then look for where meaningful jobs will arise, where more personalized services are required. Those are the kinds of jobs where human intervention becomes much more important," Krishnan said.
The Indian job market is estimated to witness 22 per cent churn over the next five years, with top emerging roles coming from AI, machine learning and data segments, according to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs report that was released in May.
Globally, the job market churn is estimated at 23 per cent, with 69 million new jobs expected to be created and 83 million eliminated by 2027.
Krishnan said that there will probably be jobs in the entertainment sector, significant jobs in personal care and a variety of other areas where personal training etc are required, those kinds of occupations which are formerly not so much in the limelight at present.
"We will have to do a detailed study. We will have to see ways in which the higher level jobs really get created. We see it today actually even in the software sector. We see that today as all the many of the traditional BPO jobs are drying up. People are going up the value chain in terms of engineering design, research, jobs of that nature, which pay better, but then you need better skills," Krishnan said.
Read More On:
DISCLAIMER - This article is from a syndicated feed. The original source is responsible for accuracy, views & content ownership. Views expressed may not reflect those of rediff.com India Limited.
You May Like To Read
TODAY'S MOST TRADED COMPANIES
- Company Name
- Price
- Volume
- Vodafone Idea L
- 9.17 ( -6.43)
- 158804255
- G V Films
- 0.92 ( -2.13)
- 92620172
- Srestha Finvest
- 0.93 (+ 4.49)
- 40021818
- GTL Infrastructure
- 2.21 ( -4.74)
- 33334323
- Spicejet Ltd.
- 57.56 ( -8.33)
- 31426149
MORE NEWS
Augustinus Bader Skincare & Haircare Launches...
Tira brings Augustinus Bader's luxury skincare and haircare to India, offering...
Muthoot Finance Gold Loans Now Available on...
Muthoot Finance announces that its flagship gold loans can now be availed using Google...
NCERT Books Now Available on Amazon India
NCERT textbooks for students from Kindergarten to Class 12 and UPSC aspirants are now...