By Prabhat Gusain

The global economic landscape, including India, is currently undergoing a massive disruption, thanks to the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The potential of AI to revolutionise various industries and change the dynamics of the global economy is very real.

However, despite its utility, AI has also sparked controversy. As AI continues to evolve and become more commonplace in India, there is a growing concern that it may replace and displace a significant portion of the working class. This fear is becoming more tangible with each passing day.For instance, a report from Goldman Sachs in March 2023 estimated that AI could replace one-third of content generation tasks done by humans. This is a clear indication that the Indian economy is rapidly shifting, and not necessarily for the better.

One primary way in which people foresee AI taking over the economy is through job automation. As AI becomes more sophisticated, it will be able to carry out tasks that currently require manual labor. This puts employees in jeopardy, as there will be no need for them to perform tedious labor anymore. Already, we are accustomed to interacting with automated messages or chatbots instead of real human representatives when trying to connect with a company or service. While this may provide convenience for customers, it comes at the cost of human customer service representatives losing their jobs. 

In a cost-competitive economy like India, companies are more likely to utilize AI to cut operational expenses and reduce the need for human employees, and we’ve seen a recent example of this with Dukaan, an e-commerce platform for merchants. They introduced an AI chatbot to handle customer support queries, and as a result, had to let go of 90% of their support staff. 

Sumit Shah, the CEO of Dukaan, shared this update on Twitter. According to him, the AI assistant has dramatically reduced query resolution time from hours to just minutes. Shah mentioned that this decision was necessary, as customer support costs have been reduced by around 85%. This not only affects customer service jobs but also has disruptive effects in virtually all economic sectors. 

Martin Ford, a futurist, predicts that only three sectors are entirely safe from automation and AI: jobs requiring sophisticated interpersonal relationships, jobs requiring high levels of mobility and dexterity, and jobs requiring high levels of genuine creativity. However, the Goldman Sachs report proves Ford wrong, as AI is already taking over jobs that require creativity, such as content creation.

The impact of AI on jobs is further exemplified by the layoffs that happened at Byju’s last year. Content, solution-writing, and design teams were drastically reduced in favor of AI alternatives. Even entire teams have been eradicated as AI models continue to be integrated into educational modules. It wouldn’t be surprising if these models end up replacing human tutors entirely.

Moreover, AI-generated content raises concerns about copyright infringement. AI scours the internet and builds a database by harvesting data shared by human creators without their consent or knowledge. This data is then repurposed to generate content, a clear violation of copyright law. Unfortunately, India lacks legislation to curb AI’s copyright infringement, allowing it to run rampant and steal the work of human creators.

Another significant economic sector affected by AI in India is manufacturing. Smart factories equipped with AI-guided robots and automated assembly machines outperform human employees and help companies reduce employment and labor costs. As a result, factory workers are losing their jobs to machines.

The growing presence of AI in India’s job market needs to be addressed thoughtfully. To harness the full potential of AI while mitigating its adverse effects, comprehensive policy frameworks are required. Retraining and creating a workforce with an entirely new skill set will be necessary. If we don’t take a proactive approach and fight against the potential negative consequences of AI, we risk being swallowed whole by the Leviathan of AI.

The author is co-founder, CoFounder App

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