Zerodha’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Kailash Nadh, has shared his perspective on the potential impact of generative AI on tech jobs that lack creativity.
In an interview with Moneycontrol, Nadh expressed the belief that jobs performed by tech workers in lower ranks could easily be automated by generative AI, as they primarily involve maintenance and patching of legacy systems for large clients, with minimal creative work involved.
Nadh addressed worries about the vulnerability of IT engineers to being replaced by generative AI. He added that the large headcount in IT services firms is frequently related to billing requirements rather than the need for human labour for technological operations. According to Nadh, generative AI coding could efficiently accomplish the actual technology task conducted by lower-ranking persons. He emphasised that these positions are mostly concerned with maintaining and updating existing systems, making them the easiest to automate.
When asked about the timing for AI job replacement, Nadh acknowledged the uncertainty of the future consequences. While the replacement process may not be rapid, he emphasised that it is only a matter of time until economic pressures occur, causing shareholders to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of human labour vs AI technology. Nadh projected that as automation becomes more economical and effective, shareholders would demand explanations for paying a large workforce when an AI system could accomplish the jobs for a fraction of the cost.
Nadh’s views align with Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath’s previous tweets, in which he expressed concerns about humans being unable to compete with machines and advocated for AI regulation. However, Kamath assured that Zerodha employees would be safe from AI-related layoffs.
It is vital to emphasise that the future influence of generative AI on job positions will be complex and dependent on a variety of factors – but the long-term implications are yet to unfold fully.