In a recent interview, Nandan Nilekani, Chair of Infosys —an Indian multinational technology company — sees artificial intelligence (AI) as “one of the most profound transformations happening in the world.” He believes that while AI is reshaping industries globally, there is a clear distinction between consumer AI and enterprise AI. According to Nilekani, “Enterprise AI is a longer cycle than consumer AI,” requiring businesses to “reinvent themselves,” which will take time.
Nilekani also addressed concerns about the future of jobs in the AI-driven world. Contrary to fears of widespread job loss, he argued that the rise of AI will actually lead to more opportunities.
“The new business that is going to come in Enterprise AI transformation will more than make up for it,” he said, predicting a global shift that will unfold over the next 10 to 20 years.
As AI models evolve, Nilekani believes that regions like India will play a key role in AI development, particularly with India-specific solutions. He said: “Because AI is finally dependent on the data it’s trained on, every part of the world which has unique data will require to do something about training the models for that data.”
Nilekani sees the current wave of AI as the foundation for even broader applications. “AI is about making it convenient for businesses and consumers,” he said, pointing out that while current infrastructure is essential, future applications built on AI will be “far more democratized.”