Rajesh Nambiar, who leads Nasscom and is the head of Cognizant’s India unit, recently talked about the potential effects of advanced artificial intelligence on jobs, especially in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector. According to Nambiar, people working in BPO jobs, dealing with various processes, could be at the highest risk of being replaced by AI technology.
Nambiar mentioned that the business-process-management industry, worth $48.9 billion, has changed a lot but is still facing a risk of rapid job replacement by AI, particularly in BPO roles. However, he assured that those working in the software services industry, a significant part of India’s tech sector, have less to worry about if they incorporate AI into their work.
He stressed that professionals in the software services industry who don’t adapt to AI in their work might be replaced by those who do. Many IT companies are investing in training their employees in AI skills to meet future needs.
Though there are concerns about AI impacting jobs in the Indian tech sector, Nambiar believes the real impact happens when AI is used to solve specific problems or integrated into existing systems. He also pointed out that Gen AI, a type of advanced AI, might affect white-collar jobs more, particularly those involving a lot of thinking and analysis.
While acknowledging that some are overhyping Gen AI in the short term, Nambiar thinks its long-term impact is underestimated. He predicts that over the next 5–10 years, AI, including Gen AI, will have a more substantial impact than currently expected. Nambiar also sees Gen AI as a “great equalizer,” suggesting that the benefits of using these technologies are more significant when human capabilities are lower.