Indian multinational information technology services and consulting company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has said that generative artificial intelligence platforms like ChatGPT will create an "AI co-worker" and will not affect existing jobs.

Milind Lakkad, the chief human resources officer (CHRO) of the country's largest IT services firm that employs over 6 lakh people said such AI tools will help improve productivity, but it is difficult for these AI tools to change the business models for companies.

"..it (generative AI) will be a co-worker. It will be a co-worker and that co-worker will take time for them to understand the context of the customer," Lakkad said in an interview with PTI recently.

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The context for a job to be executed will be industry and customer-centric, which will continue to come from the human who is being assisted in tasks by such a co-worker, Lakkad explained.

"It is not that jobs will get replaced, but the job definitions will change," he added in the comments which will assuage concerns about future of jobs in the sector which is one of the biggest recruiters of engineering talent in the country.

The introduction of platforms like ChatGPT has led to an increase in concerns about whether a trained human is needed at all to deliver the work which a technology company offers to clients.

These AI platforms are able to write entire codes. With such functionalities, human resources are laid redundant. Hence one of the reasons for massive layoffs by big tech companies across the world is attributed to the emergence of such intuitive platforms.

But Lakkad said the context in which a particular customer works is extremely important, and the need to differentiate its offerings from the competition makes it essential for a customer to keep on evolving continuously.

The amount of work to be done by a human being versus the generative AI platforms will vary as per industry as well, he said.

If anything, it will reduce the need for managerial talent but the demand for workers lower down the hierarchy will continue as they will get crucial skills on the context front, he said.

"It's (generative AI) a good thing to happen for the future, but I think it will be collaboration rather than replacement," Lakkad said, adding that the emergence of such tools will not change the business models.

According to him, tools like ChatGPT will increase the productivity, and consistency of the work which gets delivered and reduce the need for governance, up the pace of delivery and reduce the need for peripheral functions, he said.

TCS is using such inputs in "some pockets" already, Lakkad said, adding that a lot of the work will happen in these areas going forward and the entire picture will get clear only in two years' time.

There will be changes in training which will take place as a result, Lakkad said, adding that the company pays a lot of attention to this aspect and typically plans in advance for requirements of the future.

(with PTI inputs)

First Published:Feb 26, 2023 5:00 PM IST