'Electrician could earn more than engineer': Panellists mull future jobs & AI challenges at ManoramaOnline Techspectations

Anoop Ambika, CEO, Kerala Startup Mission, began the panel discussion at the 10th edition of ManoramaOnline Techspectations with a sense of premonition. He shared news about Jack Dorsey's tech company, Block, laying off 4,000 employees due to AI impact. "I don't want to sound it like a doomsday prediction. We just want to be prepared for the future," he said. He soon followed it up with some interesting prospects during the discussion that centred on 'Catalysts 2030: India's next wave of scalable tech innovators'.

Ambika said that one key thought is what will happen to the jobs. "What are the next-generation jobs? The government has introduced the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) bill to modernise the laws governing the nuclear sector. The likes of Google and Amazon are closely working with mini-nuclear providers or researchers. New methods of energy will evolve. Traditional ways of power will go away, making way for new modes of power, and this will provide new opportunities. There are going to be new jobs in hardware. We will need a lot of fitters and electricians. Establishing data centres won't be easy. These people are going to be paid higher than the white-collar jobs," said Ambika.

He said that the government is trying to adopt AI. "Kerala has the unique advantage of digital literacy. New business models are emerging, salons are proposing a business proposition of promoting haircut models for the bride and groom and then offering it to them at a premium rate," Ambika said.

Anuraj Ennai, CEO of InfinyAI Labs, also shared concerns over energy consumption. "We have had major technological disruptions in the form of the internet and later with smartphones and mobility. By 2030, physical AI is going to dominate. While building these, we may have an energy shortage. 4% of energy will be used by Gen AI. Physical AI will consume 10% of energy. We may face shortages in materials like copper, gold, silver and semiconductors. The focus will be on building a sustainable business. We may also need physical linkages. Our initiative Venture Studio tries to build a level of resilience and enable startups to be prepared for the unprecedented level of challenges," said Ennai.

Hemant Jain, Founder and CEO, Chiranjiv, said that AI will radically transform the healthcare sector. "The cost of genomic sequencing will come down drastically. Radical transformation is on the way. Medical records will be at the tip of our fingers. Combined with the power of genomics, precision medicine and personalised treatment plan will become a priority," he said.

Ashish Agarwal, Vice President, GIC Private Limited, however, believes that there is a tendency to get carried away by AI. "There is a feeling that if you don't have AI, investors will not talk to you. We get carried away by that belief. There is a demand for real products and services, which AI cannot provide. AI will increase the ability to access information faster so that we can consume it better. For example, we don't have to go to 20 websites and collect the data. AI will do it for you. Investing will evolve in five years, data analytics will get commoditised, and seniors will have to develop their ability to do things," he said.

Abhijith M, Co-founder, Eight Times Eight, stressed the human connect, AI can't match. "AI is not going to take away the teaching profession in the near future. It's going to be an enabler. We have had multiple discussions with parents; they want handholding from the teacher for their students, to give them emotional support. There is a human connection between a student and teacher," said Abhijith.

Felix Josemon, Founder, ConversationAB and KPH moderated the session.