The Impact of AI on Job Roles: What Indian students need to know about future employment trend
A few years ago, when Artificial Intelligence (AI) became available in public domains as Large Language Models (LLMs), little was known about its eventual impact. Driven by robust research & development since then, AI has extended its scope of work extensively—promptly becoming an integral part of how humankind operates. Moreover, global businesses have begun integrating AI as a core part of their businesses, and the subsequent digital transformation has directly translated to a comprehensive paradigm change in employment opportunities, opening up a new horizon.
As things stand now, the global AI market capitalization stands at more than $279 billion, with estimations supporting a 6x increase by 2030. The sector is also witnessing an unprecedented growth of 37.3% CAGR till 2030, and reports suggest it will create over 97 million jobs globally by 2025. While these aspects indicate a sharp demand growth, 40% of global businesses have revealed a lack of skilled employees to work in the AI ecosystem, an aspect that has been identified and is being addressed by industry stakeholders, governments, and others.
Upskilling in modern digital technologies like AI, machine learning (ML), Data Science and others are being perceived as a critical enabler of this push. As AI continues to transform jobs in India and across the world, this is providing a unique opportunity for Indian students, particularly regarding future employment trends and professional aspirations.
Role of AI in transforming jobs
The primary objective of integrating AI in business systems has been intelligent automation. In the beginning, the adoption of AI led to the narrative that this technology was designed to reduce employment opportunities worldwide. However, as AI matures across business segments — it has been made clear that the role of AI has largely been misunderstood, as its goal is not to cause job losses but rather to transform era-inappropriate roles to suit the requirements of the present-day world. Through the integration of AI, businesses are reducing repetitive and mundane jobs, comprehensively transforming the outlook of sectors like manufacturing, customer service, education, and many more.
However, selective arguments can be made that AI has indeed caused job losses. For example, transforming manufacturing lines with the integration of automation and mitigating the need for manual labor. However, arguments must also cover the job generation aspects as well, where it is helping to bring a significant portion of society’s underserved communities to join the white-collar workforce. Through historical perspectives, this shift can be explained in a more fruitful manner. The emergence of steam engines meant that the world did not require horse-pulled carriages; the emergence of air travel democratized travel itself while opening up new avenues for business and employment generation—actively and passively. Technological breakthroughs are engineered in a unique way to pave the way for advancements into more specialized roles, and humankind gradually aligns with this shift, given the enormous potential they bring.
Contemporary trends
The comprehensive paradigm shift of the Indian and global tech industry through AI integration is offering a unique opportunity for Indian students. With growing use cases across sectors and businesses, AI is dramatically impacting employment roles to create specialised opportunities. For example, automation is addressing menial, repetitive tasks through a smart alternative. This is not only redefining job responsibilities but also establishing a methodical approach through an AI-powered system that prioritizes efficiency and output. Indian students who are upskilling in relevant knowledge are uniquely positioned for modernistic tech careers that not only offer professional growth but fuel personal ambitions.
Furthermore, AI’s extensive impact on creating and transforming job roles is leading to the creation of new skill demands. Upskilling is being perceived as the catalyst in this aspect, managing, sustaining, and developing AI technology that extends towards disciplines such as Data Science, Machine Learning and the development of new AI models. In the case of GenAI, new-age job roles like prompt engineers are being created across the world—essentially transforming white-collar jobs at an unprecedented rate.
AI is also leading to reducing the requirement of manual interventions in repetitive tasks, essentially freeing up crucial time for more socially and technologically inclined objectives like critical thinking, creativity, and development efforts. These aspects are fueling advancements across disciplines, powering the global startup ecosystem that is addressing new-age problems effortlessly. This shift in industry dynamics is also covering big businesses, as global corporations are not only investing in AI but also their existing workforce to make them future-proof and ready for new-age challenges and job roles.
Future Outlook
While AI remains at a nascent stage of development, the scope of work in the sector, coupled with the growing emphasis on using this new-age technology, is pushing humankind forward to growth. This offers Indian students not only an alternative way of sustaining their professional aspirations but also enables them with different options to choose from. In the coming years, AI is expected to set benchmarks across all disciplines and sectors, highlighting the importance for Indian students to learn relevant knowledge. The growing emphasis among India’s large student population indicates an active participation in learning to drive their social and professional betterment, helping them to become crucial contributors to the nation and the world’s developmental goals.