Tech Executive: Artificial Intelligence Will Create More Jobs Than It Eliminates

A top technology executive at Indian IT giant Wipro believes artificial intelligence will expand job opportunities rather than eliminate them. The company's chief technology officer says AI represents the biggest industry opportunity since electricity or the internet.

A senior executive at major Indian technology company Wipro is pushing back against fears that artificial intelligence will devastate the software services industry, arguing instead that AI adoption will significantly increase demand for tech workers.

The software services sector, valued at $283 billion globally, has experienced significant stock market declines as investors worry that AI technology could fundamentally disrupt the industry’s labor-heavy business approach.

However, Wipro’s Chief Technology Officer Hari Shetty sees things differently. In a recent interview, he stated: “When you look at the entire gamut of things that’s possible, it really appears like a large opportunity for us.” Shetty predicted that AI will generate more employment opportunities than it eliminates.

“What you’re seeing today is basically task automation. What we are really talking about is autonomous enterprise, which is a completely different ball game that will require IT services companies to work deeply with clients to actually convert them,” Shetty explained.

The technology leader described AI as “probably the single biggest opportunity” facing the industry, comparing its potential impact to groundbreaking innovations like electricity and the internet. He believes current discussions focus too heavily on automation while overlooking a much larger transformation taking place.

Drawing from World Economic Forum projections, Shetty noted that AI technology could generate 170 million new positions worldwide while affecting approximately 92 million existing roles. He emphasized that India’s information technology industry will experience high demand for specialized capabilities including model training, data management, and ethical AI development.

“The primary differentiation here is people who know AI and people who do not know AI,” he observed.

Shetty drew parallels to cloud computing, suggesting that AI will expand rather than reduce the scope of work for service providers. He reported that Wipro continues experiencing robust demand for younger engineers who possess AI expertise, contradicting forecasts that the industry’s traditional workforce structure will be undermined.

According to Shetty, companies require partners with deep understanding of their operational processes to facilitate their evolution into “autonomous enterprises,” a transformation he anticipates will influence technology investment patterns over the coming decade.

“We clearly think AI is a dominant force, at least for the next decade to two decades, in terms of the kind of business that it will drive,” he concluded.