AIs Impact Overstated, White-Collar Jobs Here to Stay: Raghuram Rajan

by

Ganpat Singh Chouhan

AIs Impact Overstated, White-Collar Jobs Here to Stay: Raghuram Rajan

New Delhi, March 15: The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) is being exaggerated, and white-collar jobs are not going to disappear in the coming years. This assertion comes from former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan.

In a recent article published by Project Syndicate, he stated that the pace of technology adoption, market competition, and government policies will determine how these changes unfold.

Rajan noted, “New technology typically takes longer to spread across various industries than forecasts suggest.”

He added, “Except for certain sectors like software, various challenges and resistance to change often slow down the adoption of new technologies.”

To illustrate his point, Rajan cited the example of automated telephone exchanges, which took decades to completely replace human operators.

He argued that a similar delay could occur with the widespread use of AI in many industries.

Later, Rajan shared his thoughts in a LinkedIn post, where he mentioned that many predictions related to AI overlook the roles of society and politics.

He stated, “Public opinion and political responses will also determine how AI impacts jobs and the broader economy.”

In his analysis, Rajan outlined several potential pathways for an AI-driven economy.

He suggested that powerful AI platforms developed by companies like Anthropic and Meta Platforms could gain significant technological advantages, allowing them to charge higher prices to businesses reliant on their AI systems.

If this scenario unfolds, companies across various industries may utilize AI to automate numerous tasks and reduce the number of white-collar employees.

In such a case, displaced workers might transition to service sectors like retail or hospitality, leading to increased competition and potentially lower wages in these fields.

Rajan also mentioned another possibility where multiple AI systems compete in the market.

He said, “In such a scenario, productivity gains could spread more broadly across the economy rather than being limited to a few companies.”

Leave a Comment