AI will create jobs—but not fast enough: Management guru Ram Charan sounds a warning

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India Inc’s debate over work-from-home is returning on a call from prime minister Narendra Modi as part of a strategy to deal with the repurcussions of the West Asia war. This comes at a time artificial intelligence is reshaping jobs and productivity expectations, while macroeconomic pressures—from currency weakness to tighter cash visibility—add a new layer of urgency for chief executives.Mint reached out to Dr Ram Charan, feted global advisor to CEOs and boards, for his views on the tough choices CEOs need to make. Dr Charan, formerly a board member at Hindalco Industries, dwelled on work from home, top CEO worries, how AI will reshape the workplace, and how workers can retrain themselves.

Edited excerpts from the conversation:AI will eliminate jobs. There should be no confusion about that. In history, when jobs were eliminated, new jobs were created.

This time, however, it may take longer for new jobs to emerge. So there is going to be a gap.But people are intelligent. They know it is coming.

Fear is not the answer. You have to move forward and shape your life. There is so much available for learning and gaining new skills.

There are also new kinds of jobs emerging. You cannot simply remain fearful and do nothing.AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude have democratized access to high-level capability at low cost. An ordinary high school student can use them for $20 a month and become far more productive.Currency decline of around 10% over the last 18 months has emerged as the greater worry.

It's not stopping, supply chain things are not easily available. People borrowed money in dollars. It's a very, very difficult time.