Tech sector stocks are seeing some recovery after the recent bloodbath amid concerns about AI-led disruption. However, the Tata Consultancy Services Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, K Krithivasan, said that the company is not afraid of artificial intelligence taking away livelihoods.
“We encourage our associates to go out (to the customers and use AI), even if it means cannibalising our revenues,” Krithivasan told PTI. According to the TCS CEO, the company is insisting that each of its over 6 lakh staffers are AI fluent, insisting that the company is not “afraid this technology will take away our livelihood. We believe it is going to open up more, so you enjoy the benefits the more you do, and not by resisting the change,” he said.
TCS’ stance mirrors that of smaller rival Wipro, which expects rapid AI adoption to boost rather than shrink demand for software service providers. Wipro Chief Strategist and Technology Officer Hari Shetty told Reuters he expects AI to create more jobs than it displaces.
AI adoption among employees
Krithivasan said that as part of the same efforts, the company has asked associates to explore how it can use AI in projects. He added that everyone wants to learn new AI skills, but there is no incentive to do so.
TCS MD and CEO said the company is finding that senior-level employees are slower to build AI-based solutions than “proficient” younger staff.
It is not about just giving a few prompts to a generational AI platform like ChatGPT, he said, adding that staffers have to get their hands dirty and build solutions using the AI tools.
Krithivasan said that as people climb the hierarchy and become senior-level employees, they tend to read a lot but do not build on what they read.
AI is a civilizational shift: Krithivasan
Krithivasan termed AI a civilizational shift, pointing out that it democratises knowledge and solves problems that had remained unsolved for 60 years.
He said that AI is now a board-level agenda, with chief information officers being directed to scout for solutions. The company’s top boss added that the new technology will increase productivity, but TCS also focuses on the benefits that can accrue to its customers as it considers the technologies.
Amid heightened concerns about governance of AI use, Krithivasan said TCS is exploring a scenario in which AI itself governs AI through multiple agents.