India, US insist AI will not cause job losses

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India and the United States of America believe that the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) is unlikely to lead to significant job losses. Instead, leaders of both countries believe that AI will transform the employment landscape by altering the nature of work itself. While some traditional roles may evolve or diminish, new opportunities will emerge in various sectors, giving rise to entirely new types of jobs.

“Loss of jobs is AI’s most feared disruption. But, history has shown that work does not disappear due to technology. Its nature changes and new types of jobs are created,” India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the AI Action Summit in Paris. Modi was in France from February 10 – 12 at the invitation of President Macron. 

“We need to invest in skilling and reskilling our people for an AI-driven future,” Modi said.

In Paris, Modi co-chaired the AI Action Summit. The event was a gathering of world leaders and global tech CEOs that saw the exchange of views on a collaborative approach to AI technology for innovation and larger public good in an inclusive, secure and trustworthy manner.

“We are at the dawn of the AI age that will set the course of humanity. Some people worry about machines becoming superior in intelligence to humans, but no one holds the key to our collective future and shared destiny other than us humans. That sense of responsibility must guide us,” Modi added.

JD Vance, the vice president of the United States, who was present at the summit, supported Modi’s perspective.

“The Trump administration will maintain a pro-worker growth path for AI so it can be a potent tool for job creation in the United States and I appreciate Prime Minister Modi’s point,” Vance said.

“AI, I really believe, will facilitate and make people more productive. It is not going to replace human beings. It will never replace human beings, and I think too many of the leaders in the AI industry when they talk about this fear of replacing workers, I think they really missed the point. AI, we believe, is going to make us more productive, more prosperous, and more free,” Vance added.

The warnings

The comments from the top officials of two of the world’s biggest supporters of democracy come at a time when several surveys, including India’s own Economic Survey, have pointed to significant job losses due to the adoption of AI.

India’s Economic Survey 2024-2025 pointed out that AI could lead to significant job displacement, particularly affecting middle and lower-wage brackets workers.

“Deployment of artificial intelligence presents both opportunities and challenges,” V Anantha Nageswaran, India’s Chief Economic Advisor, said during his press conference after the release of the Economic Survey.

“Sometimes, we all feel that technology eventually generates more jobs than it displaces. That is true, but the keyword is—eventually. What happens between and eventually is critical…Technological transitions have not been painless in the past, particularly during the previous three industrial revolutions in the Western world and we need to learn from them,” Nageswaran added.

Last year, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem pointed out that as AI becomes more established in the economy and its impacts more transformative, it could destroy more jobs than it creates. The people who lose their work to automation may struggle to find new opportunities.

U.S. AI policy to centre around American workers

Despite the concerns about job losses, JD Vance insisted that America’s AI policy would center around American workers.

“We refuse to view AI as a purely disruptive technology that will inevitably automate away our labor force. We believe, and we will fight for policies that ensure that AI is going to make our workers more productive, and we expect that they will reap the rewards with higher wages, better benefits, and safer and more prosperous communities,” Vance said at the AI summit in Paris.

“The administration will make sure that America has the best-trained workforce in the world. Our schools will teach students how to manage, how to supervise, and how to interact with AI-enabled tools as they become more and more part of our everyday lives,” Vance stated.

“And as AI creates new jobs and industries, our government, businesses and labor organizations, have an obligation to work together to empower the workers, not just of the United States but all over the world to that end. For all major AI policy decisions coming from the federal government, the Trump administration will guarantee American workers a seat at the table and we’re very proud of that.”

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