Over the past three years, AI has seen an investment of $30 billion, with around 7,000 startups and numerous unicorns emerging, signaling the undeniable growth in this space. But now the question is- how will organisations keep pace with the AI revolution?
At Cypher 2024, India’s Biggest AI Conference by AIM Media House, Shalvi Chitkara, COO of Data and AI at Genpact, emphasised that an AI-ready organisation begins by aligning AI with business needs.
And the first step is building a robust data architecture to drive AI models for better decision-making. Another important factor is AI governance to ensure AI remains ethical, unbiased, and beneficial for society.
Further to thrive with AI, organisations need three key components: understanding business needs, ensuring readiness, and establishing strong AI governance.
Can an Organisation’s AI Talent Define Success?
Chitkara believes that beyond the above-mentioned factors, talent is at the heart of AI success. It’s no longer just about data scientists and engineers, everyone in the organisation, from HR to finance, needs to be AI literate.
Platforms like Machine Hack, Oracle Recruiting, Zoho Recruit, and HirePro are already helping HR automate recruitment, improve candidate evaluations, and cut down hiring time.
“In the past, AI challenges were left to technical experts,” Chitkara noted. “Today, the entire workforce needs to be AI-literate.”
Building the best AI models is pointless if employees aren’t ready to use them, and successful AI adoption requires harmony between technology and talent. “AI doesn’t replace humans; it frees them to do more creative, meaningful work,” she said
Chitkara highlighted that having an AI champion is crucial to break down silos and ensure AI is embedded in business strategy.
A safe environment where failure is part of learning is key to overcoming risks. Cultivating a culture of continuous learning and agility will determine whether an organisation thrives or falls behind in the AI era.
Indian Employees are Adopting AI
Indian IT companies are rapidly upskilling their workforce with generative AI (genAI), positioning themselves at the forefront of the AI revolution. As of Feb 2024, the top 10 Indian IT services companies including TCS collectively had nearly 450 genAI projects and proofs of concept (PoCs) in development, reflecting a current deal pipeline valued between $150 million and $250 million, as per the data by market intelligence firm UnearthInsight.
Sonata Software, a mid-tier IT company, reported that around 80% of its project pipeline is focused on genAI, according to chief information officer Samir Dhir. The company has a $50 million AI deal pipeline.
However, the talent shortage continues to be a challenge. In June, TCS struggled to hire for 80,000 job openings citing skill gap as the reason. The same is true for Wipro. The IT giant recently announced that it is now rolling out 30,000 offer letters for freshers from 2022 with a compensation of INR 3.5 LPA, and other CGPA requirements.
The truth is that it is extremely difficult to find good, or even decent, software engineers with coding skills for such small compensation. At the same time, there is a supply of mediocre graduates who are not ready for taking up jobs.
Meanwhile, India is embracing AI in the workplace rapidly. According to Microsoft and LinkedIn’s latest 2024 Work Trend Index, a staggering 92% of knowledge workers in India already use AI at work, outpacing the global average of 75%.
This strong adoption reflects the confidence Indian employees have in AI’s ability to save time and boost creativity, helping them focus on higher-value tasks.
Already major tech players have unveiled several AI tools that are transforming workplace productivity by automating routine tasks and streamlining communication. Some of them include Google’s AI Teammate, powered by Gemini, Microsoft’s Recall, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT desktop app.
