Quick AI adoption essential for future of work in India, says Intel

Chip giant Intel on Wednesday said that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is essential to the future of work in the post-pandemic world, with over 90 per cent respondents in a survey considering AI to be essential or highly relevant to their businesses in India.

More than 40 per cent of small and micro revenue firms are using AI for decision support while in medium sized firms, nearly 50 per cent rely entirely on human decision-making as they still do not use AI, revealed the report by Intel India based on two surveys in the country.

Conducted by the Srini Raju Centre for Information Technology and the Networked Economy (SRITNE) at Indian School of Business (ISB), the Suitability of Machine Learning (SML) survey had 3,099 employees across 106 Indian occupations, and the 'AI and Future of Work' survey had 301 firms across sectors that have adopted AI/machine learning (ML) in their workflows.

Over 70 per cent of respondents across various firm categories expect their organisational headcount to increase in response to AI over the next two years while a similar number indicated the growth of all firm-level initiatives to support AI adoption.

"There is a need to better understand AI's integration and impact at work in order to accelerate innovation and scale its benefits, especially in the context of emerging economies such as India," said Nivruti Rai, Country Head, Intel India and Vice President, Data Platforms Group, Intel Corporation.

"This study by Intel India and ISB will help drive future research to meaningfully inform policymakers and the industry about the impact of AI and machine learning," she added.

According to the report, an overwhelming 80 per cent of their workforce will undergo significant re-training due to AI implementation over the next two years.

Over 80 per cent of respondents from the survey indicated that either the organisation or more than one department in the organisation stood to benefit with AI deployment.

"An overwhelming 80 percent of the surveyed small, micro, medium and high-revenue firms have specific AI teams. Nearly 40 percent of all firms indicate that a designated programme manager is responsible to provide oversight to AI initiatives," the findings showed.

A key finding is that firms that have projects with a high suitability for ML are expected to receive investments that are broader in scope and quantum.

These projects are also expected to see high growth in investments over the next five years.

The survey also indicated a growth in workforce hiring and re-training over the next two years.

"The pandemic has only accelerated this growth, thereby rendering the work forms systematic and pervasive. It is, therefore, important for policymakers and organizations to develop an acute understanding of this future of work as they frame policies for work and workers," said Deepa Mani, Professor of Information Systems and Executive Director of SRITNE, ISB.

--IANS

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