Wipro chairman Rishad Premji speaks on AI, automation and the future of jobs

Many jobs that existed in the past are slowly phasing out and data says that over the next five years, 9% of India’s 600 million workforce will hold jobs that do not exist yet.

“Jobs are dynamically changing,” says Rishad Premji. He says that unless we are looking into specific jobs such as doctors and lawyers, it is very difficult to explain what to expect in the future of jobs.

“The big mindset shift that has happened in people is that they are recognising that if they don’t reskill themselves, they will get left behind,” he says.

“I think the biggest skill is learnability and continuous learning, that is the most important non-technical skill you can develop,” says Premji.

“Culturally, around 5-10 years ago, if somebody had a conversation about a failed startup or a failed job, it was highly discouraged in social and family circles. That has dramatically changed!” he adds.

“The value of technology is not in the technology itself but in the problems it is looking to solve,” he adds. “So I am always asking the question -- how does this help?”

“Any change and disruption in technology creates anxiety,” says Rishad Premji when Kanwal mentions an alarming study by two Oxford professors about how by 2030, 69% of all formal jobs in middle scale level will vanish.

He said that what we need to remember is that AI can transform a few parts or components of jobs such as 5-10% of a job rather than entire jobs.