At a time when the question of whether AI will take jobs has become outdated and concerns have shifted to how quickly it will happen, the world is witnessing mass layoffs across sectors, especially in tech, where large firms are replacing employees with AI and robots. Ravi Kumar S, CEO of Cognizant Technology Solutions and a former Nvidia engineer, is adhering to a fresh approach to hiring. Leading a company of around 350,000 employees, Kumar believes AI won’t just automate tasks, it can actually create new opportunities, particularly for entry-level workers, like school graduates. “The middle is all there with AI, and the end of it is validation and verification by humans.”
A new approach to entry-level talent
Speaking to Fortune, Kumar said in the era of the AI boom, the company might need more graduates. Unlike many tech leaders who prioritise STEM backgrounds, Kumar is betting on liberal arts and non-technical graduates. “We are now going to hire non-STEM graduates. I’m going to liberal arts schools and community colleges,” he said.
The reason he thinks is that AI can amplify human potential, giving people with different skills the tools to contribute in meaningful ways. “AI is not about replacing humans; it’s about helping them do more,” he explains. This year, we are hiring more school graduates than ever before. I can take a school graduate and give them the tooling so they can actually punch above their weight. AI is an amplifier of human potential. It’s not a displacement strategy,” he said.
Speaking of this, Kumar revealed that Cognizant is now hiring more in departments that were traditionally non-STEM, because a large part of their work revolves around problem-solving. “When machines assist with problem-solving, companies can achieve a more balanced mix of problem solvers and problem finders,” he said. This means the core teams are now made up of non-STEM professionals, including “anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists, journalists,” people who can identify problems with purpose and creativity.
‘AI is amplifier of human potential, not displacement’
Kumar believes that the fears around AI replacing humans come from a focus on using technology to replace work rather than amplify it. “If it’s a productivity bump, it will create more distribution of wages, provided it’s not in the hands of a few people and you distribute it equitably,” he said, before adding, “AI is an amplifier of human potential. It’s not a displacement strategy.”
When asked how Cognizant is using AI internally, Kumar explained that the company is trying out mid-career shifts. Employees can move into roles that combine technology with business knowledge, even if they don’t have deep technical knowledge. “There is a deep technology swim lane and a second swim lane of applying technology to businesses, which is not deep into technology. It’s a combo of knowing operations and knowing technology. You can land some of the mid-career people into those jobs.” This makes it easier for mid-career professionals to transition into new roles without starting from scratch.
Cognizant is also rolling out apprenticeship programs built on a “work, earn, and learn” model and has partnered with universities to implement these skills. Kumar sees this as an add-on in the AI era: people don’t need deep skills to take advantage of these opportunities, and the path to growth is faster and more accessible. “We are now going to hire non-STEM graduates. I’m going to liberal arts schools and community colleges. I’ve just kicked off a program with a company called Merit America, which focuses on career shifts, so people don’t leave their jobs. So we’re trying all this.”
Kumar says AI helps him connect insights across disciplines, inside and outside the company. It allows him to make faster and more informed decisions. He emphasises that leadership today is about integration with the broader scope and recalibrating assumptions quickly. “With four generations of employees, each with unique needs, we must balance the present with the future. Enterprises today are not just workplaces, they are platforms for societal change,” he concluded.
