Artificial intelligence will fundamentally reshape jobs by breaking them into smaller, task-based components rather than eliminating employment altogether, said Puneet Chandok, President of Microsoft India and South Asia.
“AI will not kill jobs. AI will unbundle jobs. Your job is essentially a bundle of tasks. What AI will do is unbundle those tasks,” Chandok said while addressing the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) Democratizing AI Resources for Economic Growth and Social Good event, held as part of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi.
However, he stressed that continuous skilling is essential for workers to remain relevant in an increasingly dynamic technological landscape.
Chandok said artificial intelligence differs from previous technology waves such as the internet, mobile, or cloud computing because it represents the ability to “manufacture intelligence” at scale.
“For the first time in human history, we have the potential to manufacture intelligence,” he said. “Intelligence is the most valuable commodity on the planet.”
Reflecting on the rapid evolution of AI since the “ChatGPT moment” roughly three years ago, he noted that model capabilities have advanced at an unprecedented pace.
“The models and capabilities you see today are unlike anything we witnessed even a few months ago,” he added.
Chandok said India stands at an inflection point similar to the expansion of its digital public infrastructure, citing Aadhaar and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as examples of technology scaled nationally with transformative impact.
“India stands at the brink of something even bigger with AI. India is getting ready for its AI century,” he said.
Citing Microsoft research, Chandok noted that 92 per cent of knowledge workers in India use AI, with 77 per cent using it daily — the highest adoption rates globally. Additionally, 59 per cent of Indian businesses are looking to adopt AI agents.
According to Chandok, AI systems are evolving from simple tools into what he described as “digital colleagues.”
“The real breakthrough will happen when AI moves from being a tool on your phone or laptop to becoming a true teammate,” he said. He described AI agents as systems with perception, cognition, and agency — capable of acting “with your permission, but not your involvement.”
He also argued that AI would disrupt traditional billing models built around time-based services.
“We operate in what I call an inefficiency economy, where service providers bill by the hour. AI doesn’t bill hours; it delivers outcomes,” he said. “If AI can draft a legal document in 30 seconds, you cannot charge by the hour.”
Chandok highlighted that India’s AI ambitions are being supported by policy and infrastructure investments, including federal budget allocations for artificial intelligence and cloud computing. He described this as a “full-stack” approach encompassing energy, chips, tokens, models, and applications.
Microsoft, he said, plans to invest USD 17.5 billion over the next few years to expand data centre capacity in India as part of a significant infrastructure build-out.
Chandok emphasised that reskilling and upskilling will be critical as AI automates routine tasks.
“If you’re not learning AI today, if you’re not learning every day, you risk becoming redundant,” he said. “When a billion people in India rise with AI, that’s when this nation will truly transform.”
The India AI Impact Summit 2026 features nearly 700 events during the week.
(ANI)
