AI will aid companies, economies accelerate growth, says IBM CEO

NEW DELHI: Artificial intelligence (AI) will take on certain low-level tasks and boost overall productivity, thus helping economics and companies grow faster, IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna said on Friday.

Speaking at the ‘B20 Summit India 2023’, he said AI can take on certain mundane tasks. “AI can help in mundane tasks such as assessment and promotion of people at the HR level. The AI deployment will enhance more productivity for companies and economies going forward,” Krishna told the gathering. AI will help “generate more per capita GDP”, the IBM CEO added.

The aim, he said, is to make sure that tech companies have a “secure and accountable AI”. Earlier this week, a study by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) noted that generative AI is more likely to augment than destroy jobs by automating some tasks rather than taking over a role entirely. However, certain clerical jobs may never emerge in lower-income countries. Clerical work was found to be the category with the greatest technological exposure, with nearly a quarter of tasks considered highly exposed and more than half of tasks having medium-level exposure.

Krishna in an interview held in May said “I could easily see 30 per cent of jobs getting replaced by AI and automation over a five-year period”.

The tech giant has around 26,000 workers so nearly 7,800 jobs could be replaced by AI in the coming years. However, according to Krishna, AI will also augment and enhance human productivity and create more economic growth.