Eco survey flags impact of AI on workers, puts onus on pvt sector to create jobs

livemint.com:

IT sector to find the right balance between deployment of technology and deployment of labour because without labour income and without labor employment, that is no demand growth, which means it comes back to hurt the country's top line and bottom line as well," he said. Pointing to findings from the Staff Discussion Note of the International Monetary Fund published in June 2024 that talk of profound concerns stemming from Generative Artificial Intelligence, or GenAI’s, impact on massive labour disruptions and inequality, the survey said that it would be in the ‘self interest’ of corporate India to seriously create jobs even as they invest in AI across sectors.

“... employment is about dignity, self-worth, self-esteem, self-respect, and standing in the family and community, not just about the income it brings.

That is why it is in the enlightened self-interest of the Indian corporate sector, swimming in excess profits, to take its responsibility to create jobs seriously. Of course, it must find people with the right attitude and skills," it added.

The survey also said that the services sector should focus on human capital to take advantage of the agglomeration effects of large, well-functioning cities that are critical for the growth of services, especially those with global market potential. Flagging the possibility of business processing outsourcing or BPO jobs such as medical transcription, image creation animation, et al, being lost to AI in the coming years and the significantly low hiring in the IT sector in the last two years, the survey pointed to the unclear picture of overall corporate hiring on a regular basis and hence cautioned against blind deployment of capital and energy intensive AI which will in turn