- Fear or ignorance towards AI is wrong; skilling acts as an oxygen mask, says Microsoft India chief
- AI should be viewed as a teammate, not just a tool, for future growth in India, he said
- Companies have two years to adapt to AI if performing well, two months if not, says Chandok
Fear or ignorance towards artificial intelligence is wrong and skilling is an oxygen mask, Microsoft India and South Asia chief Puneet Chandok said during a session on AI adoption at the NDTV AI Summit in New Delhi on Wednesday.
"Stop clinging to the role you were hired to do, it is no longer enough. Think and build with AI, it is your team mate and not just a tool on your phone. The future is bright for India if this can be adopted," he said.
OptimizeGEO CEO and AI Kiran founder Kirthiga Reddy said at the companies helmed by her, the main question remains about how to make AI as seamless and easy to access as apps like Swiggy or Blinkit. She added that leadership has a crucial role in adapting to this change, stressing that wherever people might think they are in terms of AI adoption, they need to move ten times faster.
Chandok added that as AI enters the workspace, companies have two years to adapt if they're doing well and just two months if not. He listed three ways to ensure AI becomes a tool that aids organisations - top-down ambition and courage, not treating AI like hobby projects that don't convert to customer experience or innovation, and skilling and cultural renaissance.
LinkedIn India head Kumaresh Pattabiraman said AI changes how people search for opportunities, with people's searches moving beyond the institutions and brands they associate with to a skill-centric hunt. "AI thus ensures people hire faster, resulting in serious time-saving compared to the menial past. It brings the ability to pack talent in unpacked talent pools," he said.
On the skilling of workforce in terms of AI, Reddy said that hackathons are a great way to get things going. "We get everyone across functions to dabble with tools. We give people allowance to try tools and sign up for learning," she said.
Chandok said it is a current reality that if one works in the technology sector and is not fluent in AI, they will not be in that job for long. "My ask is to not wait for people to tell you to learn AI or adopt it after it becomes a KRA," he said.
Madhav Krishna, Founder and CEO, Vahan.ai, said beyond skill and capability, the desire to learn is critical.
