UK Malayali’s podcast with ex-Microsoft honcho fuels debate on AI, future careers

Kochi: As Artificial Intelligence (AI) rapidly reshapes workplaces across the world, a wide-ranging conversation between a young Malayali podcaster in the United Kingdom and a former Microsoft technology leader has offered a sobering yet optimistic assessment of what lies ahead for young people entering the job market.

The 38-minute podcast hosted by Akhil Balagopal, a trainee solicitor and a writer in London with Babith Bhoopalan, former strategy leader (AI for Customer Experience) at Microsoft, has reignited discussion about one of the defining questions of present times - how AI will transform careers and employment opportunities for the youth.

Speaking on Balagopal's podcast 'Just Thought You'd Like to Know', Bhoopalan argued that while AI was beginning to reduce demand for routine graduate-level work, careers built around human judgement, empathy and communication were likely to become even more valuable in the years ahead. The discussion comes as businesses across sectors increasingly adopt AI tools capable of performing tasks once handled by junior employees. Bhoopalan, whose research into the future of work has been featured in The Sunday Times and other international publications, said the biggest disruption may not be the disappearance of entire professions but the gradual erosion of entry-level roles that traditionally served as pathways into them.

“The roles where the first year is mostly processing work are shrinking,” Bhoopalan said. Tasks such as document review, contract drafting, routine legal research, financial analysis and administrative processing are increasingly being carried out by AI systems. “AI is handling work that used to justify hiring a 22-year-old,” he added.

Bhoopalan's research began with a personal question. His daughter, now 17 and preparing to begin university studies in international relations in Washington, DC, asked him how AI would affect her future career prospects. In the podcast, Babith Bhoopalan admits he did not have a satisfactory answer.

“I wasn't acting as a technology executive. I was acting as a dad,” he recalled.

Seeking answers, he analysed reports from 17 major organisations, including the World Economic Forum and Goldman Sachs, eventually producing an AI-career guide that has been accessed by more than 30,000 families across 128 countries.

Despite concerns over automation, Bhoopalan remains optimistic about the future. His research identified four qualities that remain particularly difficult for AI to replicate – emotional intelligence, creative vision, physical dexterity and ethical judgement. As a result, professions centred on trust, empathy and complex decision-making – including mental health care, diplomacy, emergency services, skilled trades and surgery – are likely to remain comparatively resilient.

The legal profession offers a particularly revealing example of AI's impact, he said. While software is increasingly capable of performing routine legal tasks, many core aspects of legal practice remain deeply human.

“You cannot write an algorithm for sitting across from a parent who fears losing access to their child,” Bhoopalan said, referring to family law.

Asked by Balagopal what single skill young people should prioritise in the AI era, Bhoopalan's answer was immediate: “The ability to ask better questions than AI can answer.”

Describing himself as “stubbornly optimistic”, he argued that curiosity, communication and empathy would become increasingly valuable as AI grows more powerful.

“AI can answer questions at superhuman speed, but it cannot be a human being at superhuman depth,” he said.

Balagopal, a London-born trainee solicitor, writer and podcast host with family roots in Thiruvananthapuram, regularly interviews figures from the worlds of law, technology, science, sports and the arts, exploring ideas shaping contemporary society.