Artificial intelligence is unlikely to result in widespread job losses and will instead open up new employment opportunities, provided people overcome fear of the technology and actively reskill themselves, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India Ajay Kumar Sood said on Wednesday. Speaking at the India Today AI Summit, Sood outlined the broader vision behind India’s AI Mission and addressed growing concerns about the impact of automation on the workforce.
Discussing the future of employment, Sood acknowledged that certain lower-end roles, including portions of routine coding work, could become obsolete as AI tools continue to evolve and improve. However, he emphasised that AI should not be perceived as a threat, describing it as a transformative technology capable of improving quality of life and enhancing productivity across sectors. According to him, while some existing jobs may disappear, the overall effect of AI will be the creation of a significantly larger number of new roles.
He stressed that human involvement will remain central even as AI systems become more deeply integrated into society. As artificial intelligence expands across industries, new job categories are expected to emerge in areas such as auditing, oversight, monitoring, validation, and ethical governance of AI systems. These changes, he noted, will require professionals to acquire new skills and adapt to evolving career pathways shaped by technological advancement.
Sood highlighted that improving AI literacy and expanding large-scale skill development programmes are key pillars of the India AI Mission. The government’s objective, he said, is to reduce apprehension surrounding AI and encourage people to view the technology as an enabler rather than a disruptive force. While acknowledging that AI carries potential risks, he explained that India is simultaneously building strong policy and governance frameworks designed to minimise harm while supporting continued innovation. Innovation, he added, remains one of India’s core strengths and an area the country must actively leverage.
Emphasising inclusivity, Sood said AI development must benefit all sections of society rather than remain concentrated among a privileged few. This includes ensuring equitable access to computing resources, availability of unbiased and diverse datasets, and deployment of AI solutions that address real-world challenges. Under the India AI Mission, the government has enabled access to nearly 38,000 GPU-equivalent computing resources through public-private partnerships at roughly half the cost of global benchmarks. He also highlighted the development of AI Kosh, a national data platform hosting more than 9,000 curated, non-personal datasets made available to researchers, startups, and innovators.
On governance and safety, Sood said India has adopted a proactive approach toward responsible AI deployment by integrating legal safeguards directly into technological systems. He described this as a techno-legal framework in which compliance requirements are embedded into AI tools themselves, particularly when handling personalised or sensitive data. Such an approach, he suggested, could emerge as a significant global contribution from India in shaping future AI governance standards.
Addressing concerns about global AI dominance by a small number of large technology companies, Sood noted that India is pursuing an alternative strategy focused on democratising innovation and investing in sovereign AI capabilities. This includes developing large language models trained on India-specific datasets, a move aimed at preventing technological dependence on global tech monopolies and ensuring greater national autonomy in AI development.
Looking ahead, he cautioned against unchecked expansion of AI infrastructure, pointing out that unlimited scaling may eventually face energy constraints. He suggested that future technological progress could involve combining artificial intelligence with emerging fields such as quantum computing. At the same time, he stressed the importance of building sustainable data centres, noting that India’s growing renewable energy capacity — currently around 180 gigawatts — could provide a strategic advantage in supporting energy-intensive AI systems.
Sood also discussed India’s balanced regulatory philosophy, describing it as a middle-path approach that avoids overly restrictive regulation while not leaving AI entirely to market forces. By incentivising safe and responsible adoption, he said, India could unlock significant economic opportunities and generate large-scale employment as businesses increasingly prioritise compliance and risk management.
Highlighting practical applications already underway, Sood pointed to AI’s growing role in sectors such as healthcare and agriculture. In healthcare, AI tools can assist in analysing medical scans such as CT images, though human oversight remains essential for accurate diagnosis and decision-making. In agriculture, initiatives like AgriStack are helping ensure that government benefits and services reach farmers more efficiently. He concluded by emphasising that artificial intelligence is not merely a technological novelty but a tool capable of delivering meaningful improvements in everyday life and driving inclusive national development.
