The Brij Disa Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (CDSA) at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), in collaboration with the Wadhwani Foundation, released a report on the perceived and expected impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Indian white-collar workers. 

The report, titled "Labour-force Perception about AI - A Study on Indian White-collar Workers", finds that AI's impact is no longer futuristic; it has already begun. According to IIM, this research report represents one of the earliest efforts to understand AI's impact on India's white-collar workforce, offering valuable insights for policymakers, business leaders, and the academic community for informed policy-making, strategic planning, and effective workforce development initiatives. The findings are based on detailed interviews with 31 business executives, a field survey of over 550 white-collar employees, and an analysis of over 70,000 job vacancies in India from public data sources.

The report's launch event was attended by Professor Bharat Bhasker, Director, IIMA; Mr. Prakash Kumar, CEO, Wadhwani Centre for Government Digital Transformation; Professor Sriram Sankaranarayanan, Co-Chairperson (CDSA), IIMA; and authors of the report. 

Speaking during the report launch, Professor Bharat Bhasker, Director, IIMA, said, "We must accept the fact that AI, ML, AR-VR, and other cutting-edge technologies have transitioned from being mere elements of science fiction to becoming integral parts of our present reality. The AI age is upon us, and its influence is growing significantly within the workforce and across various industries".

Key takeaways

55% of employees surveyed reported that they have used AI tools at their workplaces. Furthermore, 48% of survey participants indicated that their organizations provided them training to use these tools. 

The report stated that AI's efficiency and productivity improvement benefits are also being experienced. 72% of respondents acknowledge that AI boosts their work performance, and 59% believe that AI complements their job functions. Also, 68% of employees expect AI to partially or fully automate their jobs within the next five years. Further, 40% are concerned that their current skills may become redundant. However, the scenario is not all bleak. 53% of respondents thought AI would create new jobs. 

The perception survey reveals some structural weaknesses that need to be addressed. The current graduation/postgraduate setup is not optimal for the AI era. Awareness and adoption of AI tools and AI training are low among recent graduates and entry-level workers (less than five years of experience). This may indicate a gap in their current education and training, which organizations can address through training and upskilling programmes.

The report remarks that AI adoption and awareness are uneven across industries, at least as far as the survey sample is concerned. Education, IT, manufacturing, and healthcare actively train and expose employees to AI. Retail, trade, and infrastructure are laggards in this aspect. Public administration is well-informed and tends to expose its employees to AI. A surprising finding in this study is that the finance and insurance industry is not among the top industries in training and exposing their employees to AI. Still, this shortfall in perception may be due to the higher expectations from these industries.

Professor Anindya Chakrabarti, a faculty member in the Economics Area of IIMA and lead Principal Investigator of the study, shared more insights about the report by opining that AI is a strategic imperative for India, critical for maintaining and enhancing its economic competitiveness. "With a strong talent pool, a vibrant startup ecosystem, and a data-rich environment, India is well-positioned to capitalize on AI advancements", said Professor Anindya.