Artificial Intelligencewillmorethan double the rate of innovation within business organisations and create jobs in India by 2021, say business leaders and employees in a survey conducted by Microsoft and IDC Asia-Pacific

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will more than double the rate of innovation within business organisations in India by 2021, concur business leaders in India. The findings, which are part of a study conducted by Microsoft and IDC Asia- Pacific titled Future Ready Business: Assessing Asia Pacific’s Growth Potential Through AI, say that AI will spur innovation by 2.2 times and jack up employee productivity by 2.3 times in India. The study is based on the feedback of 200 business leaders and 202 workers surveyed in India.

The survey was conducted among 1,560 business decision-makers in mid-size and large-sized organisations across 15 economies in the region. The resultant study reveals that while 77 percent of business leaders concede that artificial intelligence is instrumental in determining the competitiveness of  their organisations, only a third have actually embarked on their AI journeys. The companies that have adopted AI expect it to increase their competitiveness by 2.3 times by the year 2021.

Skills challenges for an AI-enabled workforce

The study found that Indian business leaders and workers are optimistic of the impact of AI on the future of jobs. More than half (64 per cent of business leaders and 63 percent of workers) believe that artificial intelligence will either help them do their existing jobs better or reduce repetitive tasks.

Cultural changes and skilling are prerequisites for AI to work

The study also underscores the need for cultural changes and skilling and reskilling workforces to make AI work for the country. “To succeed in the AI race, India needs to substantially improve its readiness,” says Ranganath Sadasiva, Director, Enterprise, IDC. Sadasiva says, “Leaders should make AI a core part of their strategy and develop a learning agility culture. Investment in this transformative tech- nology has to be continuous for long-term success.” He believes that there is an urgent need for talents and tools to develop and to “deploy and monitor AI models, along with the availability of a robust data estate with adequate governance”.

Perceptions of how AI impacts jobs among both business leaders and employees On the subject of creating or replacing jobs, 16 per cent of business leaders believe that AI will create new jobs, but 18 percent also feel that technology will replace workers. Workers are more optimistic. While only four percent expect AI to replace jobs, 21 percent expect it to create new ones. Ironically, 12 percent of workers expect AI to have no impact on their jobs three years from now.

The study also found that workers are in reality more willing to reskill than business leaders believe they are. As much as 32 percent of business leaders believe that workers consider reskilling and upskilling challenging, but the survey found that only 12 percent of workers see it as a challenge.

Companies are willing to invest in human capital but lack concrete plans

A whopping 85 percent of businesses prioritise skilling and reskilling of workers in the future. They plan to invest in human capital evenly with or even more than in technology. However, 65 percent of them is yet to implement plans to train their workers.

The lack of understanding of where to start and strategically allocate time for reskilling are the key challenges in the retraining and reskilling initiatives today. Both business leaders and workers agree that the organisation or the company, as well as educational institutions, are responsible for reskilling for AI. A significant proportion also feels that the government has an important role to play in reskilling for AI.

An AI-ready workplace needs to be equipped with not just technological skills, but soft skills too Additionally, building an AI-ready workforce does not necessarily translate into an acute need for technological skills. The top three most required skills among business leaders in India three years hence will be:

• quantitative, analytical and statistical skills as well as
• digital skills, and
• entrepreneurship and initiative-taking.

The demand for these skills is higher at the moment than availability. The study also revealed that business leaders value soft skills more than workers expect them to.

The biggest skills gaps identified were in:

1. lnterpersonal skills and empathy (27 point difference between business leaders and workers).

2. Entrepreneurship and initiative-taking (20 point difference between business leaders and workers).

“Today, every company is a software company and increasingly, every interaction is digital. To be successful in this new world, organisations need to be fast adopters of best-in-class technology. In addition, they also need to build their own unique digital capabilities,” says Rohini Srivathsa, National Technology Officer, Microsoft India.

“Economies and businesses that have yet to embark on their AI journey run a real risk of missing out on the competitive benefits that are enjoyed by leaders,” she says, adding, “Businesses must now embrace a new culture, where innovation and continuous learning are core components of the organisational culture. It sets the stage for agility, adaptability, and growth.”