People may not need jobs by 2050 as AI advances, says Vinod Khosla

Vinod Khosla told the AI Impact Summit that AI could remove the need for most jobs by 2050, transform white-collar work and unlock near-free healthcare and personalised education for every Indian

Indian-American entrepreneur and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla made a bold prediction that by 2050, people may not need jobs as artificial intelligence makes rapid gains. 

 

Speaking during a firechat conversation with Mohit Bhatnagar, the managing director of Peak XV, at the AI Impact Summit on Tuesday, Khosla said, “By 2050, it'll be very clear that nobody needs jobs because with enough production of goods and services that are near free, you won't need jobs. Now, that's not to say people won't do jobs. People have much more time to spend with their kids, with their parents. You'll be able to dedicate your life to whatever passion you have.”

 

 

Khosla added that in the next five years, the idea of IT services and outsourcing will vanish away. “The whole idea of IT services will go away. By 2030, there will be no such thing as IT services or BPO, they will be gone. There will be new kinds of services based on AI because India has the best talent, engineers, and education in the world.”

 

Advocating that each country should have its own sovereign AI models, Khosla said, “At the policy level, India is doing the right thing. I have long believed countries should have sovereign AI, and that's why we have invested in Sarvam here in India. Clearly, for national defense and cyber security, you cannot have foreign models. Every country will want its own models.”

 

Khosla added that AI can be a game changer for countries like India, especially in bringing healthcare and education within reach of every Indian. 

 

“It is possible today and within the next year or two in India to provide a near free AI doctor to every Indian 24*7 as an AI doctor. It's possible to provide every Indian child or 250 million children in India an AI personal tutor. That would be far better than if they could afford to pay for a human tutor because it can judge a person's level of knowledge, know where the gaps are, and keep at the level of personalisation nobody could.” Khosla highlighted that such innovations and solutions can uplift the economically weaker populations. 

 

On the education side, he mentioned that universities will become obsolete in the coming time. “If you ask me, then 15 years from now, I don't see any need for universities and colleges. There will be other ways to learn that are much better and on your time, without the expense of a university and the time dedication. I don't see a huge future for universities.”

 

Khosla praised India’s efforts in AI and said that the AI Impact Summit is a huge success, witnessing registrations from more than three lakh people.