AI is Relentless: Embrace It or Get Left Behind, Warns Industry Leaders

Artificial Intelligence, he insists, "is relentless". "It is happening whether you like it or not."

Bikhchandani, who participated in a session at the AI Impact Summit that began in the national capital on Monday, asserted that it brings focus on AI, which is a huge force and an emerging technology.

"AI is both a threat and an opportunity. Some jobs will be lost, and many will be created. The way forward is to upskill and learn AI platforms. To have this AI Summit here is very good as it brings focus on AI, which is a huge force and an emerging technology," Bikhchandani told ANI.

There are thousands of small clients at the bottom of the revenue pyramid. They matter -- but individually, they don't generate enough revenue to justify a full-time human sales call. Sending a person to follow up with each of them simply doesn't make financial sense.

So what did they do? They deployed an AI-powered voice bot.

It calls clients automatically. It speaks naturally. In fact, it's so advanced that most people can't even tell it isn't human. And suddenly, a previously underserved segment is being served.

Work that wasn't getting done is now getting done. Not because people were fired -- but because AI increased productivity. It allowed the company to reach a market that was earlier economically unviable.

"That," Bikchandani suggests, "is AI at its best -- expanding the pie."

He narrated an personal anecdote when he was fresh out of business school and had joined his first company after completing his MBA. The marketing team was filled with graduates from the best institutions -- seniors from earlier batches. But there was one difference, he recounted, his batch was the first at IIM to have personal computers integrated into the curriculum and they had actually learned how to use them.

He sad that in the marketing department, there were only a few PCs -- mostly reserved for secretaries. Senior managers didn't use them. Many didn't know how. But he did.

He knew how to use early presentation software. While others were still creating slides by hand on overhead transparencies, he was building digital presentations. Suddenly, the youngest person in the room became indispensable. Not because he was smarter. Not because he was more experienced. But because he was fluent in a new technology that others had ignored.

"That," Bikchandani implied, "is what AI feels like today."

In his advice for youth, Bichandani said that one does not need to build large language models.

"You don't need to solve global policy problems, If you're young", he says, "focus on your job and your career. Learn 5 to 15 useful AI tools. Because the older generation in many organizations won't adopt them as quickly. They won't experiment as freely. They won't move as fast.And if you become AI-enabled, you become more productive. More valuable. More relevant."

"AI, he insists, is relentless. It is happening whether you like it or not. If you don't do AI, AI will be done to you," he said.

Founder-Chairman, Sampark Foundation, Vineet Nayyar, explained that AI would affect 50 per cent jobs, but also create new employment opportunities. He emphasised that India is currently leading the way in reimagining the world with AI. Nayyar added that, so far, India has been a follower of technology, and it is now seeking global attention by articulating AI use cases for social impact.

"Two things are very evident- 50% of the jobs are going to go away because they will get automated, but also there will be 50% more jobs. The number of jobs created by using technology is very large...The fact that India is leading the way in reimagining the world with AI is noteworthy. So far, India has been a follower of technology, and it is now seeking global attention by articulating what AI's use cases should be for social impact. This summit is very timely as it will change the vocabulary of India's participation in redefining AI and its impact," Nayyar told ANI.

Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran today emphasised that India can be one of the largest societies in which machine learning and human abundance can reinforce, rather than undermine, each other.

Speaking at the "Future of Employability and AI" session of the AI Impact Summit 2026, Nageswaran asserted that the change will not happen by accident but will require political will, state capacity, and national commitment to align technological adoption with mass employability. He also stressed on the importance of a joint effort into the matter, adding that which should include the private sector, acadamics and the policy makers.

The AI Impact Summit which kicked off on Monday in New Delhi will welcome world leaders from across 20 countries, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Brazilian President Lula da Silva, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and others. UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres will also attend the event.

- ANI