'Demand for programming talent will not reduce regardless of AI...', says Tech Mahindra's Mohit Joshi

Tech Mahindra MD and CEO Designate, Mohit Joshi on Saturday said that India is still at the very early stage of a technology revolution. He further added that in the next ten years, "we will be seeing a decades worth of change every single year".

He added that these changes will be driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI), advances in genomics, nanotechnology, robotics -- all of which will require a human in the loop, a deep technical and business expertise.

Sharing his views during a session at IIM Nagpur's 'Zero Mile Samvad' on whether AI will make programming jobs redundant, he said, "AI will certainly make programming easier and will make it more widespread. I don't think it will make it redundant."

"It does something truly remarkable. It allows an average programmer to be at the level where the expert was only a short while back. AI allows for a dramatic boost in productivity and at the end of the day, programming is about taking certain business logic and applying it so that you are able to get a certain output," he said, in conversation with Siddharth Zarabi, Managing Editor, Business Today Television.

AI will create winners and losers, Joshi said, adding that it will create a lot more winners than losers. "It will overwhelmingly benefit all of us," he stated.

Separately, he also expressed optimism about the future of the IT services industry, saying it will grow in double digits over the next decade or so.

"The IT services industry is driven by the fact that there is an incredible shortage of engineering and technology talent the world over. The total number of programmers across the world is only 5-6 million. The demand for programming talent is not going to reduce over time regardless of what an AI will do. The role of a programmer will evolve over time," he said at the event.

The IT services industry will require a significant pool of talent as it continues to grow.

"I don't see the industry shrinking from a 'people' perspective. The industry will be much larger in the future and will continue to require talent," Joshi noted.

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