Opportunities Or 'Losing Control'? Industry Leaders' Prediction On Future Of AI

Agentic AI, or artificial intelligence with immensely capable agents that act as force-multipliers, can raise concerns due to the fear of humanity losing control, industry leaders at the NDTV Ind.AI Summit said today.

In a conversation with NDTV's Vishnu Som, they discussed aspects of AI development linked to coding, commerce and nation-building, along with any possible risks associated with the technology.

Companies that are developing AI have been putting in place responsible policies internally to check models as they become more capable, Paul Triolo, Partner, DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group, told NDTV.

"There are more existential risks, for example, of an AI model taking somebody who doesn't have a PhD in biotechnology and enabling them to design a bioweapon. That's a real fear. So the companies are very aware of those kinds of risks and are taking steps to mitigate those," Triolo said.

He drew attention to the emergence of maltbook and OpenClaw in recent weeks to illustrate his point about loss of control.

"... That's a really tough risk to get your head around because the agents are becoming more capable. And as we get into an agentic world where those agents are taking actions and impacting the real world... the thinking is the risks become greater that we'll lose control of those models," he added.

Triolo cited what AI policy expert Stuart Russell told NDTV at a previous session about why it would take a Chernobyl-style event for governments to wake up to the dangers of AI and the need for regulation.

AI And Covid-Like Moment

On an analogy comparing the early age of AI with living through a Covid-like moment - no one really thought the illness in China would affect lives across the globe, assuming Covid was self-limiting and would go away - Amit Zavery, President, Chief Product Officer and COO, ServiceNow, said while it is an interesting take, AI - unlike Covid - has not come as a surprise.

"The Covid moment took a lot of people by surprise. I don't think AI has been a surprise. We have been talking about AI for probably 10 years now. What's happening now is that a lot of the things are all starting to come together. Every part of any industry, look at it. And if you look at society, everybody's aware of it," Zavery said.

"The question becomes how do you use it in a way which helps you? That's the part I think which is confusing for many people. Some people are worried about job losses. Some people are worried about what happens to industry. And some people are worried about how you can control and manage it? Does AI control you or are you going to control AI?" he said. "But there's no confusion that this is going to impact your life... while also understanding the power of it [AI] so they can put some controls and some guidelines around it, and you can get benefits out of it in the long term."

AI And Jobs

Nikhil Malhotra, Chief Innovation Officer, Tech Mahindra, said the question about job losses due to AI needs to be seen from a nuanced way.

"I think we're still at that stage where there's a lot of fallacy and myths being talked about that AI can rewrite and write software. From the lens that we look at it, there are two ways that you do," Malhotra said.

"If you're a product company, no doubt, and you start afresh, 50 per cent of your code still can be written by AI. But from a services standpoint, when we deal with customers, these codes are not very simple codes. They've got a large number of integration layers behind the scenes. If I use an AI, we have actually sometimes seen the reverse as well in terms of productivity. So you've got to be very careful in terms of where you apply it," he said.

NDTV Ind.AI Summit

NDTV Ind.AI highlights India as a country that is not catching up in AI, but leaping ahead. As the global AI landscape evolves, the world is increasingly looking to India not just for scale, but for leadership and direction.

The NDTV Ind.AI Summit brings together policymakers, industry leaders, innovators, and thinkers to shape an AI future that is rooted in human values and ethical responsibility.

Built on two core pillars - India's human-centric AI agenda for the world and safe, responsible and impact-driven AI - the summit champions a people-first approach. It envisions AI as a force that elevates humanity, drives inclusive growth, and safeguards societal well-being while accelerating innovation.